The Glasshouse

The Glasshouse is announcing a major, £2m donation from The Foyle Foundation to support its work with young people. Already reaching over 50,000 young people each year, the donation will support the music charity to grow and develop its work, under the banner of a new Music Academy for the North East of England.

The donation is a leadership gift towards a new £20m campaign the charity will launch in 2025 to support its ambitions during its third decade. The celebrated music centre turns 20 in December 2024.

The gift was announced at an event last week which set out the charity’s goal to raise £20m in donations in the coming years. The Glasshouse will launch this ambitious fundraising campaign publicly in 2025, during its 20^th anniversary year.

The news also comes as the charity launches a new campaign ‘Music makes me feel’ celebrating the transformative impact of music education on young people.

The Foyle Foundation has been awarding grants to cultural and learning organisations for 25 years, giving almost £150m overall since its inception. It has long been a supporter and partner of The Glasshouse (formerly Sage Gateshead), contributing to several different areas, including upgrades to music-making facilities, education, and Royal Northern Sinfonia.

This £2m donation is the Foundation’s legacy grant for the North East of England and will take the form of a contribution to The Glasshouse’s endowment. In recognition of their gift, The Glasshouse has renamed its 25-room music education centre the Foyle Music Centre.

Abigail Pogson, Managing Director of The Glasshouse said:

“The Foyle Foundation has long shared our ambition to create opportunities in music for everyone across the North East. Our international centre for music will soon celebrate its 20^th birthday, and this gift will kickstart one of our most ambitious and vital fundraising campaigns in our history. I’d like to thank the Foundation for its commitment to music, our region, and our music charity.’

David Hall, Chief Executive of The Foyle Foundation said:

“The Foundation is delighted to celebrate and help kickstart The Glasshouse’s anniversary campaign by providing long-term funding for its Music Academy to expand its work and fulfil its long-term potential. This will enable many more young people, and others, from across the entire region to benefit from increased music-making, training and routes to career progression within the newly named Foyle Music Centre.”

More about the Music Academy

The Glasshouse is turning 20 in December 2024 and has several ambitions for its third decade, including a new Music Academy. Music education has been at the heart of the organisation’s mission since day one.

In 2025 the charity will bring together all its music education and artist development activity under the new Music Academy, with the aim of reaching even more young people in the following ways:

1. Increasing the number of places available for young people to get involved.
2. Reducing financial and socio-economic barriers to increase access.
3. Creating opportunities across the North East to reach young people wherever they are.
4. Supporting emerging professional musicians by connecting music education with artist development programmes.

More about the ‘Music makes me feel’ campaign

Young people at The Glasshouse have shared how much music means to them and the amazing ways it makes them feel. Today, Thursday 31 October, The Glasshouse is launching ‘Music makes me feel’ – a campaign that celebrates the emotional and transformative impact of music education on young people. Through their own words, stories, and a short film, the campaign shows how music can build confidence, joy, and community, giving them a sense of belonging.

Find out more at www.theglasshouseicm.org/musicmakesmefeel 

ENDS

For more information, images or interview requests please contact Susie Gray, susie.gray@premiercomms.com 07834 073795 

About The Glasshouse International Centre for Music

The Glasshouse International Centre for Music is a home for live music lovers.

It’s a place where you can hear rock legends or pop icons on the same night as folk trios or string quartets. Where new musicians are nurtured and showcased on the same stages as platinum-selling performers. And where youth choirs and tambourine-shaking toddlers practise in the same spaces as its acclaimed orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Because as an international centre for music they’re focused on creating and celebrating outstanding music – whether that’s unearthing or growing talent from the region or bringing the world’s best artists to their stages. And as a charity they’re focused on making sure all of that is available to anyone – no matter where you’re from, how old you are, how much money you have, or what challenges you face.

Which is why every year more than 2 million people are able to enjoy top-notch gigs, concerts, and classes – in their venue at Gateshead Quays, out in communities across the North East, and through livestreamed performances and digital lessons.

Whether you’re making it up or taking it in, you’ll find music lives and grows here.

More about The Glasshouse International Centre for Music

• From global stars to artists starting out, The Glasshouse has hosted 10,022 performances, totalling 4.7m tickets. To have seen every performance would have meant seeing one show every day for 27 years.
• It’s hosted over 220,000 music lessons for North East folk. The region’s young people have learnt to play, sing or produce with us, on over 1.7m occasions.
• Royal Northern Sinfonia perform at The Glasshouse, tour the region, and have played to international audiences on four continents, with livestreams reaching people across five.
• Like stepping stones, artists like Ward Thomas have worked their way from their free stages to selling out its big hall and getting global recognition.
• The Glasshouse regularly opens its doors to a wide range of conferences and events. Since 2004, they’ve welcome over 400,000 delegates from the likes of Greggs, NHS and British Engines, and many, many more.
• The charity is one of Gateshead’s biggest employers, and so far it’s generated £500m of economic value to the region.
• The charity has been the proud guardians of The Glasshouse for almost 20 years, safeguarding it when live music was put on hold during the pandemic.
• The centre has 630 panes of glass and stands 40m tall.