Alexis Ffrench interview: 'I like to think of myself as somewhat of a disrupter in all that I do'

AF: I've always been invested in music education. I'm a passionate advocate for music for all and the notion of music as a human right, particularly for young people. When I can, I'm always looking to carve out time away from my other activities for work in this space. In the past, I've worked for The Prince's Trust and in partnership with Sony Music, leading courses and workshops for young people, so when I saw this job advert – and it literally was an advert – I decided to apply for it.

I went through the interview process and met with my now colleagues at ABRSM and was so impressed, not only by their work, but also by the individuals within the organisation. You get a real sense of that when you go for interview – straight away you're able to get to the heart of an organisation. What makes them tick? What are their artistic imperatives? What kinds of things are important to them? I was able to get a real sense of their direction of travel, and I was really excited by what I saw.