Recently in Tom Bestford Category

Argh! Getting the final pieces in place for the 5th Birthday weekend, hoping that I haven't missed any loose ends and also not forgetting that Steeleye Span are performing tomorrow night!

Today I've had a brief meeting with other colleagues working on the weekend to make sure that all of the artists have dressing rooms when they need them, and also that there are enough Artist Liaison team members around to police the event. Sunday especially will be BUSY with the sold out Kathryn Tickell's Surprise Party featuring the man himself, Sting.

And then I've been confirming timings and set ups for some of the concerts such as the Fiddle Family Concerts on Sunday at 11am and 2pm in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall. This is a great concert which premiered at Fiddles on Fire in April and it shows a troubled composer writing a piece for string quartet. It was really fun to see and I hope will manage to inspire the next set of young musicians.

Still tickets left for Andy Sheppard's Five Sided Dream on Saturday night in Hall Two, this I think might well prove to be the highlight concert of the birthday weekend!

I can't wait!
Tom

Once again, working at The Sage Gateshead has produced another exciting opportunity!
Last night, Joe McElderry came to sing on the Concourse of The Sage Gateshead, also in the building was my friend Jim's future girlfriend, Cheryl Cole. I couldn't believe how small they are...or maybe I was just far away.

Luckily, I was scheduled to be running a traditional rapper sword dance class down in the Music Education Centre and so the team was able to come into the building and watch the live performance; they were so excited!

Also yesterday, I had a trip out to the County Hall in Morpeth where I represented the Folkworks Hexham Gathering at a meeting of Northumberland Festivals. We were given a presentation on some research done at several festivals throughout the year as to what the economic impact is on local towns. The Hexham Gathering is a festival run by Folkworks and the Queens Hall Arts Centre in Hexham on the second bank holiday weekend of May. It is aimed at giving children and young people performance opportunites and a chance to meet other young musicians - a very worthwhile event!

Tomorrow I have the complicated task of collecting all of the artist riders for the 5th Birthday weekend (17th to 20th December) and putting together a shopping list to feed all artists and Technicians working that weekend - a massive task, wish me luck!

Working in the Performance Programme department at The Sage Gateshead is a surefire way to lead a varied life!

Today I've been wrestling with the logistics of putting on our Seasonal Music on the Concourse programme, 17 amateur choirs and bands over 22 days performing seasonal music to a busy Concourse before our packed out Hall One gigs in December.

Coupled with this, I'm also working on other upcoming concerts we have here at The Sage Gateshead, such as PBS6 on Saturday night and Steeleye Span on the 16th Dec. Not to mention the 5th Birthday weekend coming up on 17th-20th December where I have been tasked with the unenviable role of making sure all of the artists get fed!

Still, I love it when all the hard work pays off at the end of a good show and I'm ready to move on to the next challenge!

Tom