William J Conner

William J. Conner has over 40 years’ experience in development and as a management consultant in philanthropy. His expertise is in institutional development, strategic planning for large fundraising campaigns, leadership giving, volunteer leadership recruitment and good governance practices. From 2008 he was a Fellow and Development Director at Wolfson College before retiring in 2019 and joined Hughes Hall at the University of Cambridge as Director of Institutional Advancement in January 2019. He also maintain a thriving multi-national consulting practice, Conner and Associates, based in London and Boston.

Much of his life has been centred around a strong interest in classical music, with a particular expertise in 17th and 18th century keyboard music. As an editor of The New Grove Dictionary of Music working with Stanley Sadie in the mid-1970s, he worked on bibliographical problems, musical instruments and instrument makers. He was a founder of the Boston Early Music Festival in the late 1970s and is currently a trustee of the Handel Hendrix House (London), Pushkin House (London) and the Voces8 Foundation (London). Earlier in his career, he was active as a church musician.