Leonard Victor Ingrams,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1 September 1941 – 27 July 2005) was a financier and opera festival founder/ impresario. 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 A youth orchestra is an orchestra made of young musicians, typically ranging from pre-teens or teenagers to those of conservatory age. Depending on the age range and selectiveness, they may serve different purposes. Orchestras for young studen ...

under Sir Malcolm Sargent. He was educated at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

, where he was inspired by Peter Levi, and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He gained a double first in Classical Moderations and Greats. Subsequently, he taught

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at Queen Mary College, University of London from 1965 to 1967. In 1967 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 ten 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 east of Oxford, England. He later became well known for founding Garsington Opera in 1989, an annual season of opera in the manor gardens, designed by Lady Ottoline Morrell 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 Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

and was beginning her Masters' thesis on

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

under the supervision of

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

. Leonard Ingrams died suddenly after a heart attack at the age of 63 in 2005. The couple had a son and three daughters. Ingrams also has a surviving elder brother, Richard Ingrams, one of the founders of the satirical magazine ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

''.

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 British opera managers People educated at West Downs School