The Glasshouse

• The Unthanks, Corinne Bailey Rae and Maria Włoszczowska begin 3 year partnerships with The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead.
• Artists will curate and create new work at The Glasshouse for audiences from the North East and beyond.
• Announcement comes as the venue marks 20 years of the iconic riverside building.

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The Glasshouse International Centre for Music has announced its new artistic partnerships, reflecting its reputation as one of the great places where artists and music fans meet.

As the venue prepares to mark 20 years of music in this landmark building, three new Artistic Partners will be working with The Glasshouse and Royal Northern Sinfonia for three a year period.

Supporting the creative ambitions of these artists, The Glasshouse will help them curate and make new work, collaborating with musicians who already work at and visit the venue.

The Unthanks have become one of the essential voices of the region over the last 20 years. They excel in bringing new ears to traditional songs and inspire fans to learn more about folk music and how it continues to evolve.

Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae has enjoyed global chart success as a writer and performer of soul-inflected pop music. Her Mercury-nominated 2023 album Black Rainbows saw her proudly wear the diverse influences of jazz, house music, indie rock and punk. The work, inspired by her time exploring the Stony Island Arts Bank run by artist and philanthropist Theaster Gates in Chicago, saw the Leeds-born artist responding to stories of Black lives, Black excellence and experiences from the Arts Bank through some of the most energising, emotive music of her career so far.

In classical music and with a focus on directing, solo and chamber work, our Artistic Partner is violinist Maria Włoszczowska. Working with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and alongside Principal Conductor Dinis Sousa, Maria will continue to establish her musical home in the North East. Through exploring new music and ideas, and collaborations with international classical artists, Maria will help take the orchestra into bold new directions.

Creative Director Wendy Smith said

“This is a wonderful chance to put artists’ ideas and voices at the centre of what audiences experience at The Glasshouse.

“Music venues are unique as places for artists to meet their audiences and have that two-way dialogue about what they’re creating. It’s an opportunity for these brilliant artists to deepen their relationships with North East music fans and to create new work made in the region.

“Over these three years Maria, Corinne and The Unthanks will bring their creativity and experience to live performances, music education, and collaboration with other artists. It’s a unique opportunity for three extraordinary artists to challenge and change what a music venue can be, and how we connect with music fans.”

Corinne Bailey Rae said:

“I’m really excited about this partnership with The Glasshouse because it’s a step into the unknown. Three years is a long time; it gives me a real opportunity to dream and scheme and do something that I haven’t done before. There’s a lot of time and space here; it’s a place I can let my imagination run wild, which is very exciting.”

The Unthanks said:

“Both The Glasshouse and The Unthanks as a band are 20 this year; we’re looking forward to this partnership being a brilliant learning experience to help us continue developing as musicians, and to discovering and helping other North East musicians in their journeys together.

“Our music is rooted in the North East, so being able to work in partnership with this wonderful venue that brings so much music to the region feels really fitting.”

Maria Włoszczowska said:

“I’m so excited to embark on a new adventure at The Glasshouse as Artistic Partner. It’s an incredible opportunity for me to work with the orchestra in a different way, developing further the relationships with the musicians and our audience.

“Chamber music is the greatest love of my life; I’m always happy to involve more of it in everything that I do. It also offers an opportunity to involve the musicians from the orchestra in a more personal, individual way.”

Maria Włoszczowska’s work as Artistic Partner is already underway, with a series of concerts led by Maria as director. These include an intimate performance of Schubert’s Symphony No 5 distilled to its musical essence in a chamber orchestra setting and a bright, exciting run through Bach’s violin concertos to highlight Maria’s incredible energy as a performer.

The Unthanks artistic partnership with The Glasshouse has begun with the band creating the soundtrack for the 2024 Fenwick Christmas window. Their bespoke new take on The Twelve Days Of Christmas is the perfect partner for this North East festive tradition. They continue with a special ‘In Winter’ gig on Tuesday 3 December, featuring a performance that celebrates different traditional music of the season in their unique voices. Their new album In Winter, released on 29 November, promises to be a future classic of the Christmas genre.

Corinne Bailey Rae’s passion for music education, supporting young people and artists will be central to her artistic partnership. Her creativity will be unleashed with exciting new projects and collaborations to be announced.

Over the next three years Corinne, Maria and The Unthanks will create new work, champion the music of emerging artists, and work alongside The Glasshouse’s Make Music education team to inspire and engage young people. These exciting new partnerships will spark new links between artists, audiences and venue in the North East.

ENDS

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

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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 join for 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 there.

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.

About Maria Włoszczowska

Polish violinist Maria Włoszczowska is recognised for her versatile musicianship, performing as a soloist, director and chamber musician, in addition to her roles as Artistic Partner of the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Director and Leader of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

In her inaugural season as Artistic Partner of The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, she will direct such different repertoire as Schubert’s Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Pierrot Lunaire, Britten’s Les Illuminations, as well as an all-Bach evening including the Violin Concertos No. 1 and 2, to name a few. In addition, she features as soloist in Schumann’s Violin Concerto, conducted by Dinis Sousa.

About The Unthanks

The Unthanks have been described as “a take on tradition that flips so effortlessly between jazz, classical, ambient and post-rock, it makes any attempt to put a label on them a waste of time”.

Their 15th record, Sorrows Away, has been described as “a masterpiece of nuanced drama” (9/10 Uncut Albums of the Year), “a landmark album by an extraordinary band that will resonate for generations to come.” (Album Of The Month – Record Collector) and “a comfort blanket in daunting times” (Folk Folk’s Sake).

Using the traditional music of the North East of England as a starting point, the influence of Miles Davis, Steve Reich, Sufjan Stevens, Robert Wyatt, Antony & The Johnsons, King Crimson and Tom Waits makes The Unthanks a unique band, earning them a Mercury Music Prize nomination and international acclaim along the way.

This Christmas sees the release and tour of The Unthanks In Winter – a dream-like winter fantasia, embracing both the dark and the light in the most ritualistic of seasons. Moving in and out of focus, like a memory, In Winter is a bittersweet hymnal to our shared winter experience.

About Corinne Bailey Rae

British singer/songwriter/musician Corinne Bailey Rae shot to stardom with her self-titled #1 U.K. debut album in 2006, featuring the global hits ‘Put Your Records On’ and ‘Like A Star’.

Over the course of her career she has released four critically acclaimed studio albums—Corinne Bailey Rae, The Sea, The Heart Speaks in Whispers and 2023’s Black Rainbows —and earned two Grammy Awards, two MOBOS, and been nominated for multiple awards including the BRIT Awards, Mercury Music Prize (twice) and BET Awards. Her work for film and television includes the theme to Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (SKY1), ‘The Scientist’ for Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades Darker opening title and soundtrack which charted globally, and in 2020 her song ‘New to Me’ was performed in the film The High Note by Tracee Ellis Ross. Bailey Rae has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Mary J. Blige, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, KING, Paul McCartney, Kele Okereke (Bloc Party), Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Questlove, Salaam Rami, RZA, Tyler The Creator, Paul Weller, Richard Hawley, Stevie Wonder, Tracey Thorn, Pharrell, Logic, Mick Jenkins, Miles Kane and many more.