My friend Lyndall Rosewarne, who has died aged 64 of cancer, was a significant figure in music education in the east of England. She pioneered a grassroots approach to music development, with the aim that all young people have the chance to participate.
From 2003 she worked as eastern regional officer for Youth Music, a national charity that aims to increase access for young people. Lyndall and I met during this time, when I was a development officer for Hertfordshire Music Service.
She helped me secure funding for a number of projects, which we then worked on until she left Youth Music in 2011, and then together until 2022. These included MusicNet East, which worked to make instrumental services more inclusive, and its successor, Changing Tracks, which expanded our work nationally. Lyndall was the strategic lead on both projects.
Born in Virginia Water, Surrey, Lyndall was the daughter of Rosalie (nee Ruscoe) and Ron Jones, who were both psychiatric nurses at Holloway sanatorium. She and her brother, Matthew, grew up in one of the sanatorium’s tied cottages, discovering a joint passion for arts and creativity early in life.
Lyndall went to Magna Carta school in Staines, then Nene College in Northampton, where she gained a BA in combined studies before completing an MA in theatre studies at the University of Essex in 1984.
While there, she became involved in the vibrant Colchester theatre scene, through which she met John Rosewarne, a history teacher, in the rehearsal rooms for the Essex University theatre production of But Dad I Want to Be a Golfer? They married in 1989.
Following graduation, Lyndall worked initially for the Essex Youth Service, progressing to be the managing agent for the county council’s Youth Training Scheme, overseeing all YTS trainees.
From 1989, she worked at the Cressing Temple medieval heritage site, which was under the umbrella of the Essex Record Office at that time. It was also associated with the Essex Heritage Trust and Lyndall was engaged to manage that connection. The site’s development as an arts venue happened on her watch, including hosting jazz concerts and the Essex History Fair.
Following a short stint working in the Essex University convocation department, she joined Youth Music.
Due to health problems in recent years, Lyndall scaled back her work. In 2019 she co-founded Magic Acorns, an early years arts development organisation. She also enjoyed creative writing, poetry and was working on a novel based on the early lives of her grandmother and great-aunt.
She is survived by John, their daughters, Conni and Esther, and by Matthew.
