interview
Blackh ea th Cons er v a toir e
At the heart of the community is a hive of activity by Valerie Breese
‘WHAT A TRANSFORMATION’, My fi rst words as Sydney Thornbury, Chief Executive of Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and the Arts showed me the revamped reception area. The focal point is the front desk, a work of art, literally. Local artist Guillermo Monroy has created a beautiful mixed media installation using sheet music and bits of old instruments but it is a conversation piece and certainly evokes the feeling of a vibrant, friendly and welcoming environment. We sit in the new waiting room, created to offer parents and carers a more relaxed space rather than sitting on plastic seats outside the classrooms to wait for their children to fi nish their studies. The once stark walls are now home to a collection of memorabilia from the archives giving the visitor an insight to this established and well-loved arts and music centre, founded in 1881 and still offering fi rst-rate tuition to over 1400 students every term. The variation in courses is incredible from SoundStart, an early years musical awareness programme for children from 3 months to six year olds to Wine Appreciation by our own wine columnist, Carolyn Bosworth Davies as well as Art and drama for all ages, Music groups and choirs. There really is something for everyone. So how does an American fi nd life in SE3? Sydney explains that she left Los Angeles 19 years ago and has spent the last 5 years living in Brockley, another well-known hub for artists and musicians. As founder and Executive Director of WebPlay, an arts education charity working with schools combing technology and drama, her specialism in business, theatre and education stands her in good stead for the challenging role at the helm of the Conservatoire. Sydney
admits she’s, ‘in it for the long run’. Her remit is to create a fi rm foundation to grow the organisation on and after a short hand-over period she offi cially took the reins in early January. Sydney has already put into place several of her ideas to create an inclusive arts centre that crosses the breadth of age and offers the chance of multi discipline work so students can fi nd where their talent lie and utilise them. One of her ideas and part of her methodology, is to intertwine, learning and performance. Music students will get the opportunity to perform in front of an audience, an invaluable experience. As Sydney says, ‘The Conservatoire is more than just a test centre’. What are her plans for the immediate future? I can see the excitement in her face as she list the projects; a collaboration with the local library to create an art library, a music CD collection open to the public, new courses, perhaps even a Saturday School in music, drama and art for young people. The Conservatoire is like a working hive. You can feel the buzz and with the enthusiasm of the new CEO, Blackheath will feature very strongly on the cultural map of London. 020 8852 0234
www.conservatoire.org.uk,
info@conservatoire.org.uk
SHARA HENDERSON
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