The Glasshouse

The Glasshouse International Centre for Music has unveiled plans for The Glasshouse Academy – a major new initiative to transform music education in the North East and beyond. 

Building on 20 years of music learning, The Glasshouse Academy will bring together everything it does for young people – supporting them from early years through to launching careers in music. It will provide clear pathways through music education, ensuring that every young musician has the opportunity to take their next step – whether that’s picking up an instrument for the first time, writing songs, producing music, or pursuing a professional career. 

This announcement comes as The Glasshouse marks its 20th anniversary and confirms its commitment to music education, despite an 80% decline in public funding for this work. Rather than scaling back, they’re stepping up and setting ambitious plans in motion to expand access to music learning across the North East. 

The Glasshouse Academy will offer one of the UK’s most inclusive and wide-ranging music programmes, covering everything from classical, folk, and jazz to songwriting, music production, and beyond. 

The Glasshouse also announces that applications for its Make Music Young People’s programme opens on Tuesday 4 March. This programme has a range of opportunities for young musicians across the region to develop their skills, whether they’re just starting or already on their way to a professional music career. The programme is a key part of The Glasshouse Academy’s commitment to nurturing talent and providing accessible pathways for all young people, regardless of their background or ability. 

To make this happen, The Glasshouse is launching a £20m fundraising campaign in 2025, with a goal to raise £1m each year dedicated to music education. Thanks to a £2m gift from The Foyle Foundation, which will provide the Academy with around £100k annually. 

As funding is secured over the next two years, key priorities include: 

• Doubling the number of places for young people 

• Creating four new music learning hot-spots in Middlesbrough, Carlisle, Sunderland, and Kendal 

• Expanding financial support, including help with buying instruments 

• Launching The Glasshouse Studios – a hub for songwriting and music production 

• Establishing a new inclusive youth orchestra for disabled and non-disabled musicians 

• Introducing a series of summer schools for young people 

There are few places in the world where young musicians can access high-quality tuition across multiple genres, alongside a world-class live performance programme, all under one roof. By expanding The Glasshouse Academy, the North East will become one of the best places in the country to learn music, develop talent, and build a career as a musician. 

Abigail Pogson, Chief Executive Officer said:
“For two decades, The Glasshouse has been a place for people of all ages to experience and make music. The Glasshouse Academy builds on this foundation by opening up even more opportunities for young people, and ensuring the North East remains a thriving centre for music learning and professional development.” 

The Glasshouse Academy is a key part of Newcastle Gateshead Music City, an initiative that’s putting the region on the map as a place where music and talent can thrive. By expanding music education, creating new pathways for young musicians, and supporting emerging artists, the Academy will help ensure the North East isn’t just a great place to experience world-class music, it’s a place where artists can build careers, connect with the industry, and stay. 

The next phase of fundraising will launch publicly in 2025 to support the Academy and help secure the future of music education for generations to come.

-ENDS- 

– Susie Gray, susie.gray@premiercomms.com
07834 073795 

Find out more about Make Music Young People here.  

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 

• Since opening in 2004, The Glasshouse has hosted over 10,000 performances, welcoming nearly 5 million audience members. It would take more than 27 years to see every show if you attended one every day.
• Over two decades, the charity has delivered around 230,000 music lessons, reaching young people and adults 2.7 million times across its education programmes.
• As its resident orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia has toured globally, performing across four continents and livestreaming to audiences across five.
• The Glasshouse has supported the careers of thousands of artists like Ward Thomas who have worked their way from free stages to headline shows in its main hall, achieving national and global recognition.
• Since 2004, The Glasshouse has welcomed over 400,000 delegates for conferences and events, hosting organisations such as Greggs, NHS, and British Engines.
• Over the past two decades, The Glasshouse has generated £500 million in economic impact for the North East.
• The iconic building, designed by Foster + Partners, has 630 panes of glass and stands 40 metres tall. In its opening year, it was exhibited at the Venice Biennale and won the RIBA Inclusive Design Award in 2005.
• Celebrating 20 years – In December 2024, The Glasshouse marked its 20th birthday. Over the next year, the charity will reflect on two decades of achievements and look ahead to its third decade, with major initiatives like the Music Academy and Music Pass for newborns, making music accessible to all.