Lydia Connolly

The story so far…

Lydia is an independent consultant focused on mentoring artists and artist managers from across the international classical music industry. Since turning freelance in Summer 2024 Lydia has developed a broad portfolio of clients, offering professional development and career guidance in one-to-one or seminar settings, both live and online, with musicians and managers at all career stages. She is regularly invited as a visiting guest lecturer as well as workshop leader, moderater and panelist by centres for music education as well as professional industry gatherings.

With over thirty years’ experience as Board Director at arts management company HarrisonParrott, Lydia acted as worldwide general manager for a prestigious roster of instrumentalists, conductors and composers and headed up the company’s artist management department.  She was additionally Head of Inclusion and Access with HP and continues as a trustee of the HarrisonParrott Foundation whose core mission is to support and champion diversity, inclusion and access within the arts.

Lydia was the first woman to study Music as an undergraduate at New College, Oxford.  She is a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (violin) and an alumna of the Strategic Leadership Programme at Saïd Business School Oxford. Lydia has been a board member of the International Artist Managers’ Association and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.