Supporters of the future
Peter and Jane How have long been attracted to supporting musical education, so it seemed natural, on the 50th Anniversary of their first visit, to support Glyndebourne’s Education Programme.
For more than 30 years, Glyndebourne’s Education programmes have given insight to schools and members of the public who want to know more about opera, as well as supporting and nurturing talent including composers, conductors, singers, designers and workshop leaders. For many this has sparked a lifelong connection with opera and Glyndebourne. Every year a wide programme of activity takes place locally to Glyndebourne, in our Tour venues and online offering many ways for thousands of people to take part.
Related links
Our long-time interest has been helping budding young musicians and singers reach their potential and we have for many years contributed to the education departments of Symphony Hall (in Birmingham) and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, among others. It seemed natural that we should do the same at Glyndebourne.
2015 marked the 50th anniversary of our (annual) visits to Glyndebourne and we wished to say thank you by making a donation. Initially, it was meant as a one off donation, but as we applaud Glyndebourne’s work with youngsters, it has continued annually.
We generally support Glyndebourne’s Youth Opera (GYO), which gives young people (aged 9-19) the opportunity to perform world-class opera. GYO is open to young people living within 25 miles of Glyndebourne and involves workshops, rehearsals and performance opportunities including Glyndebourne’s Christmas Concert and Youth or Community Operas.
It seems to us that a (relatively) small contribution can make a huge difference to a young person achieving their ambitions. We used to provide five year scholarships to individuals, but now focus on supporting organisations like Glyndebourne, who provide education programmes to a diverse group of young people in their local community.
Our 2019 community opera Agreed gave local people the opportunity to perform on the Glyndebourne stage.
We have been coming to Glyndebourne for over 50 years. Some of my most memorable experiences include Glyndebourne’s production of Der Rosenkavalier, which was hugely enjoyable, and seeing unusual productions, such as The Makropulos Case. It’s important to challenge yourself and see new things and this is one of the things we love about Glyndebourne (and reasons we continue to support).
Image credits: Agreed rehearsals. Photo by Sam Stephenson | Agreed, 2019. Photo by Robert Workman