Leonard Victor Ingrams, OBE (1 September 1941 – 27 July 2005) was a financier and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

festival founder/

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

. Leonard Ingrams was the youngest of four sons. His parents were Leonard St Clair Ingrams, who served in the Secret Service during the Second World War, and Victoria (née Reid). His mother was very musical and he started to learn the violin at the age of six. Later he played in the National Youth Orchestra under Sir

Malcolm Sargent Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...

. He was educated at Stonyhurst College, where he was inspired by

Peter Levi Peter Chad Tigar Levi, FSA, FRSL (16 May 1931, in Ruislip – 1 February 2000, in Frampton-on-Severn) was a British poet, archaeologist, Jesuit priest, travel writer, biographer, academic and prolific reviewer and critic. He was Professor of P ...

, and at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

. He gained a double first in Classical Moderations and Greats. Subsequently he taught classics at

Queen Mary College, University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and previously Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of ...

from 1965 to 1967. In 1967 Leonard Ingrams joined Barings as an international financier. After postings to Paris, Cologne and Hamburg, in 1974 he was posted to Saudi Arabia. After five years living in Jeddah he and his family moved to Italy where he studied the viola under Bruno Giuranna in Siena. After this short break (of less than a year) he then went back to Saudi Arabia and lived in Riyadh, where he worked as Supreme Financial Advisor to the Saudi Arabian Government. In 1984 he came back to England and started to work as a Director at Flemings. After working for Flemings for about 10 years he went back to the Middle East to work in Bahrain (1995-1999), before returning to England permanently and setting up his own investment consultancy: L.V.Ingrams & Co. In 1982, Ingrams and his wife moved to

Garsington Manor Garsington Manor, in the village of Garsington, near Oxford, England, is a country house, dating from the 17th century. Its fame derives principally from its owner in the early 20th century, the "legendary Ottoline Morrell, who held court from 19 ...

on the edge of the village of

Garsington Garsington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire. "A History of the County of Oxfordshire" provides a detailed history of the parish from 1082. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,689. The v ...

east of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He later became well known for founding

Garsington Opera Garsington Opera is an annual summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. The Philharmonia Orchestra and The English Concert are its two resident orchestras. For 21 years it was held in the gardens of Ingrams's home at Garsingto ...

in 1989, an annual season of opera in the manor gardens, designed by Lady

Ottoline Morrell Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befriended writers including Aldous Huxley, Siegfr ...

during the First World War. Under his musical directorship the opera company became known for world class productions. Ingrams would travel extensively to seek out singers for particular roles, and under his leadership the Garsington Opera orchestra was established, with its core from the Guildhall Strings. Ingrams married Rosalind Moore in 1964, after she had also graduated in Classics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and was beginning her Masters' thesis on Rubens under the supervision of

Edgar Wind Edgar Wind (; 14 May 1900 – 12 September 1971) was a German-born British interdisciplinary art historian, specializing in iconology in the Renaissance era. He was a member of the school of art historians associated with Aby Warburg and the War ...

. Leonard Ingrams died suddenly after a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the age of 63 in 2005. The couple had a son and three daughters. Ingrams also has a surviving elder brother,

Richard Ingrams Richard Reid Ingrams (born 19 August 1937 in Chelsea, London) is an English journalist, a co-founder and second editor of the British satirical magazine ''Private Eye'', and founding editor of '' The Oldie'' magazine. He left the latter job at ...

, one of the founders of the satirical magazine '' Private Eye''.

References

External links

Obituary

Garsington Opera website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingrams, Leonard 1941 births 2005 deaths British bankers Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Academics of Queen Mary University of London People educated at Stonyhurst College Opera managers People educated at West Downs School