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Previous participant: Lucy Scott
From: The Glasshouse International Centre for Music (UK)
To: TivoliVrendenburg (Netheralnds)
Dates: 6 - 10 March 2024
I’ve returned from the EJN Staff Exchange programme feeling inspired and refreshed, having spent a really exciting four days absorbing everything on offer at an incredible live music venue in a buzzing vibrant city.
I spent 4 days with Guy Van Hulst, Head of Jazz and Education at TivoliVrendenburg. On the first day he gave me the tour of the fantastic venue. It was amazing to discover all of the venues within – each space uniquely special, all suitable for different types of music and performance, and all with excellent quality sound.
The objective for me on the staff exchange was to experience ways of working in another large music venue, learning about their approaches to audience development, and how their teams work together. I’m really interested in learning different ways of doing things and taking inspiration from other programmes. I experienced all of that and more.
On the first day Guy gave me a tour of the venue, and talked me through their programme, their staff team and their operating model. He gave me an insight into the history of the organisation and how it came to be when the local govt took a risk and invested in two venues coming together under one roof. We discussed approaches to audience development and their marketing strategies.
On days 2 and 3 I got to experience the venue in action for Tranisitions Jazz festival and the Women in Jazz programme. I watched a whole host of amazing musicians from Christian Sands, Terence Blanchard ft. the E-Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet, Miraculous Layers and Bobo Stenson Trio.
It was a really interesting experience and I had a lot to reflect on. Live music in the Netherlands seems to be in a really healthy state, with strong audiences coming out in force for jazz shows. Guy explained that having a jazz festival was crucial to build their database for jazz gigs year round. Transitions started with a basic model – a larger headliner with 1-2 small shows around it, and then this grew. Now they don’t rely on big headliners as they have a large database and can introduce new acts. It has been really good to take back some lessons and examples of best practice to think about new ways of working and approaching programming, to share with the rest of the team at The Glasshouse.
When in your professional life do you ever get to spend time in another work place, learning from peers and absorbing different ways of doing things? I feel incredibly lucky to have had this opportunity – thank you to EJN for the experience! It’s one I’ll never forget, and I can’t wait to get back to TivoliVrendenburg again.
To: TivoliVrendenburg (Netheralnds)
Dates: 6 - 10 March 2024
I’ve returned from the EJN Staff Exchange programme feeling inspired and refreshed, having spent a really exciting four days absorbing everything on offer at an incredible live music venue in a buzzing vibrant city.
I spent 4 days with Guy Van Hulst, Head of Jazz and Education at TivoliVrendenburg. On the first day he gave me the tour of the fantastic venue. It was amazing to discover all of the venues within – each space uniquely special, all suitable for different types of music and performance, and all with excellent quality sound.
The objective for me on the staff exchange was to experience ways of working in another large music venue, learning about their approaches to audience development, and how their teams work together. I’m really interested in learning different ways of doing things and taking inspiration from other programmes. I experienced all of that and more.
On the first day Guy gave me a tour of the venue, and talked me through their programme, their staff team and their operating model. He gave me an insight into the history of the organisation and how it came to be when the local govt took a risk and invested in two venues coming together under one roof. We discussed approaches to audience development and their marketing strategies.
On days 2 and 3 I got to experience the venue in action for Tranisitions Jazz festival and the Women in Jazz programme. I watched a whole host of amazing musicians from Christian Sands, Terence Blanchard ft. the E-Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet, Miraculous Layers and Bobo Stenson Trio.
It was a really interesting experience and I had a lot to reflect on. Live music in the Netherlands seems to be in a really healthy state, with strong audiences coming out in force for jazz shows. Guy explained that having a jazz festival was crucial to build their database for jazz gigs year round. Transitions started with a basic model – a larger headliner with 1-2 small shows around it, and then this grew. Now they don’t rely on big headliners as they have a large database and can introduce new acts. It has been really good to take back some lessons and examples of best practice to think about new ways of working and approaching programming, to share with the rest of the team at The Glasshouse.
When in your professional life do you ever get to spend time in another work place, learning from peers and absorbing different ways of doing things? I feel incredibly lucky to have had this opportunity – thank you to EJN for the experience! It’s one I’ll never forget, and I can’t wait to get back to TivoliVrendenburg again.
