Ruth Railton

Ruth Railton, founder of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, was born on 14 December 1915 in Kent, UK, to a clergyman father and a musician mother. She founded the orchestra in 1948 and, as its musical director, was occupied full time until 1965. The orchestra became a national institution, playing each year at the London Proms and fostering the careers of musicians such as Iona Brown, Michael Collins and Simon Rattle. Railton died on 23 February 2001, aged 85.