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Sir John Tusa (born 2 March 1936) is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. He is co-chairman of the
as a trainee. After presenting the BBC's '' 24 Hours'' and later ''
Methuen 1999
* ''On Creativity''
Methuen 2003
* ''The Janus Aspect''
Methuen 2005
* ''Engaged with the Arts''
IB Tauris 2007
* ''Pain in the Arts''
IB Tauris 2014
* ''Making a Noise: Getting It Right, Getting It Wrong in Life, Arts and Broadcasting''
W&N 2018
Co-author – with Ann Tusa: * ''The Nuremberg Trial''; Macmillan 1983 * ''The Berlin Blockade''; Hodder and Stoughton 1988.
Sir John Tusa (born 2 March 1936) is a British arts administrator, and radio and television journalist. He is co-chairman of the European Union Youth Orchestra
The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) is a youth orchestra with members drawn from the 27 members states of the European Union. Since its foundation in 1976, it has connected music colleges and the professional music world for generations o ...
from 2014. chairman, British Architecture Trust Board, RIBA, from 2014. From 1980 to 1986, he was a main presenter of BBC 2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
's ''Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' programme. From 1986 to 1993, he was managing director of the BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
. From 1995 to 2007, he was managing director of the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
's Barbican Arts Centre
The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...
.
Early life
Born inZlín
Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; german: Zlin) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 73,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice river. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the ...
, Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, in March 1936, Tusa moved to England with his family in 1939. His father, also John Tusa (Jan Tůša), was managing director of British Bata Shoes
The Bata Corporation (known as Bata, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as Baťa) is a multinational footwear, apparel and fashion accessories manufacturer and retailer of Moravian (Czech) origin, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzer ...
, established by the Czechoslovak shoe company, which, following its international pattern, also created a pioneering work-living community around its factory in East Tilbury
East Tilbury is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, Essex, England, and one of the traditional Church of England parishes in Thurrock. In 1931 the parish had a population of 353.
History
In Saxon ti ...
, Essex. Two days before the German occupation of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939, Tusa senior flew out of Czechoslovakia on a Bata company plane, via Poland, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and France. He then became general manager of the Bata factory and its associated village in East Tilbury, living in the nearby village of Horndon-on-the-Hill
Horndon on the Hill is a village, former civil parish and Church of England parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock, in the county of Essex, England. It is located close to the A13, around one mile northwest of Stanford-le-Hope and around tw ...
where his son grew up.
Tusa junior was educated at St Faith's School
St Faith's School is an independent preparatory day school on Trumpington Road, Cambridge, England, for girls and boys aged four to thirteen. The headmaster is Crispin Hyde-Dunn, and the school has in excess of five hundred children. St Faith's ...
, Cambridge, Gresham's School
Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...
, Holt, and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, where he gained a first class degree in History.
Career
In 1960, Tusa joined theBBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Newsnight
''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' (from its inception in 1979), he became managing director of the BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
from 1986 to 1993. Tusa was President of Wolfson College, Cambridge
Wolfson College () is a colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The majority of students at the college are postgraduate education, postgraduates. The college also a ...
from January to October 1993. He was then a newsreader on BBC's ''One O'Clock News'' for two years during the mid-1990s. He anchored the BBC's coverage of the D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
50th anniversary celebrations in June 1995, and of the Hong Kong handover
Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the British Hong Kong, former colony. Hong Kong was establ ...
on 30 June 1997.
From 1995 until 2007, he was managing director of the Barbican Arts Centre
The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...
in the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
. For several years, he was chairman of the board of the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...
in London and was appointed chairman of the University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...
in 2007. For many years, he sat on the governing Council of Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
on which strength was then offered vice-chancellor positions at Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
and then York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
, but decided against accepting them because of his lack of financial expertise. In 1987, he had been rejected for the position of Director-General of the BBC for the same reason. He was announced as having accepted the position of chairman with the Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
on 18 June 2007, but stepped down from the post a month later, recognising a conflict of interest with his position at the University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...
. In 2013, it was announced that Tusa would be leaving his post at University of the Arts London from August that year, and that Sir John Sorrell would be the new chairman. From January 2009 to 2014, Tusa was chair of the Clore Leadership Programme
The Clore Duffield Foundation is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2000 by the merger of two charitable foundations, the Clore Foundation of Charles Clore and his daughter's Vivien Duffield Foundation.
Formation
After ...
. In February 2010 he became honorary chairman of theartsdesk.com. In 2014, he became co-chairman of the European Union Youth Orchestra
The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) is a youth orchestra with members drawn from the 27 members states of the European Union. Since its foundation in 1976, it has connected music colleges and the professional music world for generations o ...
.
Since leaving his BBC World Service post in 1993, Tusa has been critical of some BBC policies. He deprecated the focus and management style of (former) director general John Birt and has been vociferous about subsequent decisions to pare down World Service activities in Europe, including the Czech section.
From 2000 until 2005, Tusa interviewed 55 major figures in the arts for BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
. From October 2009, until the end of the year, Tusa presented a 91-part series on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
. ''Day By Day'' used original archive news material to track events on a daily basis from 1989, including the fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
.
John Tusa's ''Engaged with the Arts: Writings from the Frontline'' was published in 2007. It explores ways that the arts can be encouraged within a cultural and political climate in which funding is constantly under threat. He wrote two books jointly with his historian wife Ann Tusa: ''The Nuremberg Trial'' (1983) and ''The Berlin Blockade'' (1988). His writings on the arts include ''Art Matters'', ''On Creativity'', and ''The Janus Aspect: Artists in the C20''. Tusa married Ann Hilary Dowson in 1960; she died in November 2021. The couple had two sons.
Honours
* Tusa received an honorary doctorate fromHeriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
in 1993
* Tusa was awarded a knighthood in the Queen's birthday honours list in June 2003.
* Tusa was awarded an Honorary Silver Medal of Jan Masaryk in September 2018.
Books
* ''Conversations with the World''; BBC Books 1990 * ''A World in Your Ear''; Broadside Books 1992 * ''Art Matters''Methuen 1999
* ''On Creativity''
Methuen 2003
* ''The Janus Aspect''
Methuen 2005
* ''Engaged with the Arts''
IB Tauris 2007
* ''Pain in the Arts''
* ''Making a Noise: Getting It Right, Getting It Wrong in Life, Arts and Broadcasting''
W&N 2018
Co-author – with Ann Tusa: * ''The Nuremberg Trial''; Macmillan 1983 * ''The Berlin Blockade''; Hodder and Stoughton 1988.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tusa, John 1936 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC World Service British arts administrators British people of Czech descent Czech emigrants to England Czechoslovak emigrants to England British radio executives British television executives British television journalists British theatre managers and producers Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music People educated at St Faith's School People educated at Gresham's School People from Horndon-on-the-Hill Presidents of Wolfson College, Cambridge People associated with the University of the Arts London Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Jan Masaryk