£20m at 20
In 2004, one of the best places for music anywhere was built in the North East of England. 20 years later, we’re ready to take another stride forward, raising £20m over the next few years.
Our charity has achieved a lot in the last 20 years, but there’s a lot more to do. We believe passionately that music transforms people and places for the better. Access to music means young people achieve more at school. A thriving music scene makes cities and towns better places to live, encourages people to visit, and businesses to invest. Music makes people happy, improves health and creates human connection. It’s joyous. It’s hopeful.
We’ve got big plans for our third decade. But to achieve them we need help. Together, we can ensure The Glasshouse remains a local hero, a national treasure, and an international beacon. And that music can flourish.
There’s now a generation of people who have grown up with The Glasshouse in their lives. But as we enter our third decade, we have a huge task to ensure our 20-year-old building is here to provide a world-class home for live music for the next generation.
The fact is, everything you see around The Glasshouse needs renewing – from the glass you gaze though, to floors you walk on, to the lifts you ascend. And then there’s the things you don’t notice. Our light, sound, and production equipment. The technology that keeps our acoustics world-class. The machines can keep the temperature just right.
All of this is vital work: is it essential to keep our doors wide open and the music playing. That’s why over the next few years, we’re seeking to raise £13m to support the renewal of our building for the next generation.
But we’re not stopping there. We’ve got three big, bold ambitions to help music flourish, and we are seeking investment of £7m to help us. With this we will:
Establish a new Music Academy for young people – opening the doors to a life full of music right from the start.
Be the most affordable music centre in Europe – making sure money is never a barrier to music.
Enter our most creatively ambitious era yet – enabling world-class artists and homegrown musicians to make and perform their best work.
If we do these things, we’ll help unlock the creative potential of our region and its people.
Together, we can make another game-changing commitment to music, creativity, and the next generation in the North East.
We will launch a full public campaign in 2025. If you would like to get involved as a supporter now, please be in touch with Kirsty Robeson: kirsty.robeson@theglasshouseicm.org.
We already received generous pledges, and we would like to make a special mention to the Foyle Foundation who have made a leadership gift of £2m as their legacy investment in the North East of England. In recognition of this, we have renamed our music education centre the Foyle Music Centre.