Meet Our Trustees

A man in a plaid shirt working on the inside of an old upright piano in a rustic room.

Martin Renshaw

Co-founder & Organ Advisor

Martin was a chorister at St Paul’s and lay-clerk at Canterbury before singing in opera, oratorio and as one of the three Canterbury Clerkes. Starting as a teenager, he has worked on new and historic organs in several European countries, in churches, concert halls and for radio, TV and recordings. He is also an organist and has written many historical-research articles, lectures and has published three books.

A man in a yellow safety vest standing indoors near a woman playing an organ, with a skeleton in the background.

George Allan

Co-founder & Chairman

George is a dedicated building conservationist who took up organ playing in retirement, following careers as a commercial solicitor and local politician. His involvement with the Friends of Islington’s Union Chapel and its 1877 Willis organ sparked his passion for organ conservation. George combines his legal and conservation expertise to advocate for the preservation of these historic instruments.

A man is tuning a pipe organ with a tuning lever, wearing glasses and a black jacket, in a room with natural light.

Lewis Hannaby

Comms & Technology

Lewis has a longstanding interest in mechanical musical instruments, from historic self-playing organs and orchestrions to modern MIDI-controlled systems. His work with Pipe Up focuses on finding inventive and sympathetic ways to revive redundant pipe organs, combining traditional organ-building principles with contemporary technology to make them playable and relevant again.

Alongside his work with the charity, Lewis is a lighting designer and systems engineer. He graduated with First Class Honours in Technical Theatre Arts from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and began his career at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He now works as Technical Lighting Systems Designer at Isometrix Lighting + Design, specialising in advanced lighting control systems. 

Stephen Wilcox

Treasurer

Stephen started playing the organ as a teenager and has kept it up ever since. These days he is regularly found at the console of St Michael and All Angels, Amersham-on-the-Hill and other local churches – as well as on his home Hauptwerk console.

He is also an actuary, and since 2010 has been Chief Risk Officer of three different financial services firms. He also volunteers for the UK actuarial profession in the world of risk management. Stephen has been appointed as Pipe Up’s Treasurer.

A close-up of a middle-aged man with gray hair, glasses, and a beard, standing in front of a bookshelf.

Matt Smith

Comms & Technology

Matthew comes from the Vale of Belvoir, Leicestershire. He studied Stage at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Matthew worked as a lighting team leader on the London production of Les Misérables for 14 years. As a child he played the organ at the Parish Church of St. Mary Harby Leicestershire sparking his life long obsession with the King of Instruments.

Andrea Testa

Organ Activist

Andrea graduated in French horn in 2009 from the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, Italy. He began playing the organ as a teenager, first exploring the instrument on a historic 1798 Serassi organ. More recently, he has taken up formal organ studies with concert organist and teacher Jeremiah Stephenson.

Alongside his musical life, Andrea holds an MSc in Chemistry and a PhD in Medical Imaging. He is a scientific co-founder of a Cambridge-based biotech company, Amphista Therapeutics, and is currently VP Chemistry at TRIMTECH Therapeutics.

Andrea’s passion for pipe organs led him to become involved with Pipe Up, where he contributes to organ rescue activities while learning more about organ building, tuning, maintenance, and working alongside a dedicated community of volunteers.