Glasshouse welcomes £2 million donation for new music academy
Florence Lockheart
Thursday, October 31, 2024
The North East venue also launches a new campaign celebrating music education and a fundraising initiative aiming to raise £20 million in total
Gateshead’s Glasshouse International Centre for Music has announced it has received a £2 million donation from The Foyle Foundation. The donation will support the venue’s work with young people, allowing the music charity to develop a new Music Academy for the North East of England.
The gift was announced last week at an event launching the charity’s £20 million fundraising initiative in recognition of its 20th anniversary year. In recognition of the gift, the Glasshouse has renamed its 25-room music education centre the Foyle Music Centre.
Glasshouse managing director Abigail Pogson 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 20th 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.’
Music education is an important part of the glasshouse’s mission. In 2025 the charity will bring together all its music education and development activity under a new Music Academy. The new academy is intended to increase the number of places available for young people and reduce socio-economic barriers to accessing music education while reaching young people across the North East and supporting emerging professional musicians with collaborative music education and artist development programmes
Foyle Foundation chief executive David Hall 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.’
The news also comes as the charity launches a new Music makes me feel... campaign celebrating the transformative impact of music education on young people through their own words, stories, and a short film.