Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New chairman of Sistema Scotland revealed

Benny Higgins with children from the Big Noise Govanhill orchestra.
Benny Higgins with children from the Big Noise Govanhill orchestra.

Music charity Sistema Scotland has appointed Benny Higgins as its new chairman.

Next month, he will succeed Richard Holloway as head of the charity, which runs the Big Noise Douglas project in Dundee.

The charity works with children in deprived areas by teaching them to play musical instruments in order to build confidence and social skills.

It was launched in Scotland 10 years ago in Raploch in Stirling and had now expanded to Dundee, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Mr Higgins joins the Sistema Scotland Board in November 2018 and will become chairman from December 12.

Mr Higgins has held a number of senior executive roles in the banking sector, including with Standard Life, RBS and HBOS and became chief executive of Tesco Bank in 2008, retiring in February.

In June, he was appointed by the Scottish Government as strategic adviser for the establishment of the Scottish National Investment Bank. He is also chairman of the National Galleries of Scotland .

Mr Higgins said: “I am convinced from my own experience, growing up in both Govanhill, a community where Big Noise now works, and nearby Toryglen, of the transformative power of the arts and music, and the vital importance of ensuring they are inclusive and open to all.

“That is why I am excited to be appointed Chairman of Sistema Scotland.  The charity has achieved a huge amount in its first 10 years and there is compelling independent evidence of the benefits accruing to the children and young people taking part.

“In taking up this role, I would also like to pay tribute to Richard Holloway:  Sistema Scotland is his gift to our country and I will make it my mission to continue and grow this vital work for the benefit of some of our most vulnerable children, young people and communities across Scotland.”

Mr Holloway, who founded Sistema Scotland, said: “Benny brings extensive financial and business expertise coupled with the strategic vision to grow successful organisations.

“Together with his personal experience of both the communities we work in and the impact the arts has had on him, he is the perfect person to lead Sistema Scotland into the next 10 years.”

The role of chairman of Sistema Scotland is an unpaid, part-time position with a time commitment of around two to three days per month.