The Glasshouse

For Alexandra Wynne, music has always been more than sound – it’s been a source of joy, confidence and connection.

From discovering her love for singing at The Glasshouse to mentoring the next generation of musicians, her journey has come full circle.

At primary school in Ashington, Alexandra had a good music teacher who sparked her love of music. This passion grew when she began singing lessons at high school in Newcastle. Her teacher, one of the first singing tutors at The Glasshouse, encouraged her to explore its new singing programme.

Alexandra remembers, “She told me there was a great singing programme starting with masterclasses and performance opportunities, all in this incredible new building and encouraged me to take a look.”

The Make Music programme didn’t just shape Alexandra’s career, it changed her life. She auditioned for the first cohort, where six students were selected as vocalists. “My teacher was quite classically focused, and I’d been more into musical theatre up to that point,” she says. “It was at The Glasshouse that I first experienced singing opera.” Alexandra also joined the Quay Voices choir, which is still active today.

Learning from incredible tutors opened doors Alexandra never expected, including a once-in-a-lifetime moment performing for the Queen at The Glasshouse’s official opening. She sang Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Kurt Weill. She also fell in love with choral singing during residentials with Quay Voices.

Looking back, Alexandra feels lucky to have had access to such high-level classical singing tutors. “It was amazing to learn from people teaching at such a high level right here in the North East. At that time, opportunities like that were rare,” she says.

She always adored singing, but one comment changed everything when a tutor suggested she should consider conservatories for her next step. “It was the first time anyone had told me that – I picked all my GCSEs based on his advice.”

The Glasshouse became more than just a place to learn, it was where music made her feel like she truly belonged. “We’d go to school during the week and spend our spare time at The Glasshouse at weekends. We grew up together,” she explains. “Making music there wasn’t just about learning, it was about sharing something with people who felt the same way.”

Determined to make singing her career, Alexandra stayed at The Glasshouse until starting sixth form. Then she was ready to audition for music colleges, securing a place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RCB) to study singing. After graduating, she balanced performing with teaching at RCB’s Junior Department.

Together with her husband, a conductor, she set up junior departments and choirs at Birmingham Cathedral where they’d conduct and lead workshops while also working in primary schools. “I also founded Choirs at Work Limited – a choral outreach programme based at St Chads Cathedral, Brimingham – that won several awards and worked with some fantastic businesses, such as University of Oxford and The Law Society,” she says. Despite a packed schedule, she continued singing as a lay clerk at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, St Chads Cathedral and Birmingham Oratory.

Then came the pandemic, and like many musicians, Alexandra had to rethink what music meant to her. Stripped of in person performances, she released just how much music made her feel connected, not just to audiences, but to herself. As her choirs moved online, she had time to reflect on what she truly loved: performing and high-level one-to-one teaching. By summer 2023, she was back in Northumberland, commuting to Edinburgh to teach at St Mary’s Music School as their Changing Voices Teacher.

Last autumn, The Glasshouse called again. She was invited to work with the Voices of the River’s Edge choir on the Home Alone project. “It was fabulous, so much fun. I loved working with Royal Northern Sinfonia,” she says. She felt a real responsibility to the next generation of singers. “I love teaching, and I was lucky to have inspiring teachers at The Glasshouse.”

“I told the choir, when I was a teenager, I came in to look around the building with plastic covers on my shoes,” she says. “I was blown away by this resource in the region that was just for us. If somebody had told me I would come back and lead a choir here as an adult, I wouldn’t have believed them.”

Music runs through every part of Alexandra’s life. Now, she’s studying for a master’s in voice pedagogy, pushing herself to be the best teacher she can be and teaching on The Glasshouse’s CAT (Centre of Advanced Training) programme. “My tutors were reliable, and I learned there should be a balance and compromise between professionally performing and being there to support your students,” she explains.

And as for The Glasshouse? It’s still home – the place where music first made Alexandra feel limitless, and where she now helps others discover that same magic.