Dougie’s 30-year career has spanned both performance and leadership roles, in which he has spearheaded change at some of the UK’s foremost arts organisations, including Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Opera North.  A passionate advocate for culture, his ongoing efforts to improve access and inclusion in classical music have been widely praised, and he was recognised with an OBE for Services to the Arts in King Charles III’s inaugural Birthday Honours list earlier this year.

On his appointment to Deputy Lieutenant, Dougie said: “It is a great honour to be asked to support the Dorset Lieutenancy. At the BSO, we work with people in a variety of settings — from the concert hall to classrooms, care homes, rehabilitation centres and much more — and I look forward to deepening my personal commitment to communities across the county in this way.”

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Executive Dougie Scarfe at Lighthouse, Poole (c)Corin Messer