Music in the Round, the Sheffield-based chamber music organisation, has appointed a new artistic director.

Founded in 1984 as the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival by Peter Cropper, first violin of the now-retired string quartet The Lindsays, Music in the Round now presents 150 concerts per year including festivals in Sheffield based around the resident group, Ensemble 360.

Cropper’s successor as head of the organisation will be Angus Smith, member and manager of The Orlando Consort, a four-voice ensemble with two Gramophone Awards and 31 world premiere performances to their name.

Reflecting on his new post, which he takes up in August, Smith paid tribute to his predecessor. “Peter Cropper has established Music in the Round as a pivotal and vital organisation in the presentation of chamber music. While I am looking forward to bringing my own individual perspective to future programmes and activities, my starting point will unequivocally be to maintain the record of excellence, imagination and sheer dynamism provided by Peter.”