Lives quietly at first and sits in chair? (8)
I believe the answer is:
presides
'sits in chair?' is the definition.
(a chairperson presides over a board)
'lives quietly at first' is the wordplay.
'lives' becomes 'resides' (to reside somewhere is to live there).
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'at first' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'resides' after 'p' is 'PRESIDES'.
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for presides that I've seen before include "Manages meeting" , "is placed in chair" , "Is in authority (over a meeting)" .)