The Glasshouse

What happens behind the scenes at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music? Recently, six high school students, filled with curiosity, found out as part of their work experience. 

Guided by our experienced team in different areas, they got a taste of how a music venue and charity function day to day. Here’s what the students had to say about their time with us. 

Clare

Throughout my work experience at The Glasshouse, I’ve learnt so much about careers in the music industry. Meeting all the different teams from The Glasshouse has been a great experience, and I’m glad I was a part of it. 

I found out about pathways you can take to get a job in this industry and about great jobs I never knew existed before, such as communications roles. 

Being more interested in the musical side, I found the sessions more related to music the most insightful. The tour of The Glasshouse was impressive as we went inside Sage One and Sage Two and saw where many amazing artists have performed before. 

I’ve learnt about the preparation before concerts. Supplying products for artists before shows is called a rider, which can include everything from the type of stage and lighting to the type of dressing room and catering provided. During our session with the contemporary programmers, after hearing about the different artists, we matched the artists to their riders. It made me open to these kinds of jobs in the music industry, like an artist liaison, which I didn’t know about. 

The marketing task made us think hard as we had to create a phrase about an artist, like ‘Big. Bold. One for the thrill seekers.’ This technique is used on The Glasshouse’s website for each gig. I realised all the hard work that goes into getting people to come to concerts and classes. 

Alex

My experience at The Glasshouse has been positive and given me insights into the working environment behind putting on concerts. 

On Monday, we had time to settle in and were introduced to the organisation. We met the Digital team and Communications team, where I learnt about The Glasshouse’s tone of voice. 

On Wednesday, we met the IT department and were tasked with deconstructing a computer. It was tricky but engaging and fun; the whole department was! In the afternoon, we met with the programmers who book the gigs and the marketing team, which again gave a real insight into how many different elements happen within the organisation to make productions possible. 

Overall, I enjoyed speaking to all the staff and learning about their role, passions and routes into the organisation. 

Dylan

On Tuesday morning, we spent time with the Artist Development team. I learnt more about a role I’d always taken for granted. I knew the popularity of a musician didn’t magically grow, but I didn’t realise that there were so many people working behind the scenes with the artist to help them develop. Seeing how much detail goes into each event shed light on this. 

In the afternoon, we had a building tour with Steve from the Audience Experience team. It was good to find out how the acoustic design of The Glasshouse facilitates lots of music happening at the same time. For example, the building is in three main sections, joined with a special sealant so that vibrations from one stage don’t interfere with another. Later, we were with the Finance team to see how it operates and differs from corporate businesses as The Glasshouse is a charity. 

On Wednesday morning, we were with the IT team, whose work touches all areas within the organisation. Disassembling computers and putting them back together again was fun. In the afternoon, the programmers told us about their roles. They focus on getting the shows out there. Emma then came to talk to us about the marketing side of things. 

My week was full of activities that made it interactive and engaging. 

Harry

Over the week, I’ve been part of insightful activities and increased my understanding of the roles that keep The Glasshouse running. I also learnt how staff reached their current role and what they like most about it. 

On Tuesday, the Artist Development team showed us the template they use to plan events for up-and-coming artists, alongside the many programmes they run which help musicians kickstart their careers. This part of the day was informative, and I learnt about a role I knew little about. 

After a break, we met with Steve for a well-rounded venue tour, which was very engaging. Steve guided us through the rooms and corridors of The Glasshouse. Following the tour, we met with the Finance team, who gave us a detailed talk on how the charity runs financially. 

Thushara

During these past few days at The Glasshouse, I’ve realised that the purpose of this charity is for music, and there are many departments needed for it to be successful. For example, I thought the finance team probably didn’t interact much with other departments, but I saw how they link with all departments, each of which has a budget to work with. 

I found the marketing side interesting. There’s so much critical thinking happening, like identifying the target market and what tone of voice will attract people to the gig.