A farewell from our Chair, Sir Martin Narey
At our December Board meeting, we said goodbye to a group of fantastic Board members – Hilary Florek, Alfie Whillis, Roy McEwan Brown OBE, Emyr Penry Dance, Subashis Das, Sir Martin Narey DL and Herb Kim. We’re hugely grateful for the time and expertise our Board provide to our charity. It’s because of the trust and support they have for the work we do at The Glasshouse that we have been able to set out our plans for our ambitious third decade.
One of the departing Board members is our inspiring Chair, Sir Martin Narey. Martin has led an active and diverse Board to help steer and champion the charity in all it does. We thank him for all his four years of service as Chair, and eight years on the Board.
As he steps down from his position as Chair, Martin shared a few reflections on his time at The Glasshouse:
“My appointment as Chair of The Glasshouse has just come to an end. I’ve been Chair for four years and Deputy Chair before that but the maximum eight-year term that a Trustee can serve on the charity’s Board means that, sadly, I must step away.
Mine was an unusual appointment because I knew little about music. I’d never played an instrument – if I ignore a brief struggle with a euphonium which was about the same size as me when, as an eleven-year-old, I had a few lessons – and I had not listened to live music regularly. But serendipity led me to joining the Board, and the Chairmanship followed as my commitment and admiration for what the charity achieves grew.
“The word I often use to describe it is that it’s a miracle.”
It’s hard to convey just how much The Glasshouse has come to mean to me. The word I often use to describe it is that it’s a miracle. Arguably the most important new concert hall built in the UK this century, and with acoustics which are considered to be bettered by only a handful of venues in the world, this beautiful building is here in the North-East. As Art Garfunkel told us as he finished a moving performance just a couple of years ago: “You guys built a great hall.”
The Glasshouse’s reach goes well beyond the Tyne and to all parts of the North East and, in particular, the world renowned Royal Northern Sinfonia plays regularly at Middlesbrough, Carlisle, Kendal, and Sunderland. And the pioneering work with children in Tyneside primary schools with limited access to live music has now been extended to South Bank in Middlesbrough.
My time as Chair has been a time of challenge. COVID-19 saw us lose all our ticket income and, post-pandemic, it has taken time to draw audiences back. Public funding has come under pressure, but businesses and individuals have been generous, persuaded that what we do is vital.
We’re in a good place. As I leave, the helter-skelter Christmas programme of Home Alone and The Snowman is underway. By contrast, in a few months, we’ll be welcoming back the BBC Proms as, once again, they relocate from the Royal Albert Hall to bring the BBC Proms to the North East. As someone born here in the North East, in Middlesbrough, I couldn’t be prouder. I’ll be a regular visitor in 2025 and, as ticket data is showing us, I’ll be sitting alongside many first-time customers.
Come and join us and discover what makes The Glasshouse so very special.
Sir Martin Narey DL (December 2024)
Pictured: Our departing Trustees Hilary Florek, Alfie Whillis, Roy McEwan Brown OBE, Sir Martin Narey DL, Herb Kim with Chief Executive, Abigail Pogson.