School of Music

At SAA-uk I am working as their Education and Outreach Intern. This is a voluntary placement and is full-time for 9 months. I had seen a maternity cover post advertised on the archive section of the Leeds University careers website which is how I found out about SAA-uk. This internship wasn't an advertised position so I phoned SAA-uk to find out if they would be interested in taking on an intern. They were interested so I sent them my CV and was then asked to come in for a meeting and from this the placement was agreed.

I wanted to take part in the Year in Industry programme because I wanted to gain an insight into the working world before I graduated. It also looked like a fantastic way to find out about the different jobs available in the arts sector and also learn more about myself, what I am good at/ skills I need to develop etc.

My role at SAA-uk is very varied with some weeks being spent mainly in the office and other weeks I will be out at workshops or classes for much of it. However, my role at SAA-uk involves assisting Jemma (who is the Education and Outreach Co-ordinator) in arranging School and Community workshops and performances. I also assist in the running of SAA-uk's core music and dance classes through registering students and collecting fees. A big part of my role at SAA-uk consists of building up relationships with, and advertising our education opportunities to, students, parents and schools/ community groups. I have also been involved in marketing and delivering SAA-uk's concerts.

Whilst at SAA-uk I have developed a great deal of skills, including: confidence, professionalism, communication skills (notably with people of different cultures and generations), team working and independent working to name but a few.

My knowledge of South Asian arts, especially music and dance, has also grown exponentially and I am thoroughly enjoying expanding both by artistic and cultural knowledge.

Through my time at SAA-uk it has made me realise that I really want to work in the arts sector when I graduate, most likely based in education. Although I have not decided if this would be through classroom teaching or based more around the project management side of education, it has opened my eyes to the vast amount of opportunities there are out there which is very exciting!

I would you say to students considering the year in industry programme "Do it!!". Choosing to do the year in industry programme was the best decision I have ever made, I am having the time of my life AND getting valuable experience from it! The support from both the University and SAA-uk has been brilliant and there is always someone to talk to if I am unsure of anything.

I would also say, however, to carefully think about whether you can afford to take on an unpaid placement and also where in the world you want to do it. The more flexible you can be with these things the better, but you don't want to bankrupt yourself in the process!

I think when I return to University my final year I will be much more focussed and driven than I would have been if I had not taken a year out. Doing the year in industry has also allowed me to carefully think about what I want to do my dissertation on and given me ideas that I would never have dreamed of had I not worked at SAA-uk.

I enjoy taking challenges and gaining experience, so the Year in Industry programme immediately attracted me. I was excited by the prospect of getting involved in the industry and to develop those important skills required for a career after university.

The Grand Union Orchestra is a multi-cultural and inter-generational organisation which thrives on the interaction between the wide varieties of people who are involved. Within the organisation, there is the professional touring orchestra, as well as a youth orchestra which encourages involvement from local schools and youth organisations.

My placement allows me to participate in a wide variety of tasks within the orchestra. For example, I get many performance opportunities, as well as working alongside the composer, and working in the office on administrational duties.

To gauge what chance I had of securing a placement, I first sent out an E-Mail to the organisation, clearly stating who I was and what I was proposing. I ensured that my proposal was descriptive and that my passion for music was well communicated. Following a very warm response, we went on to discuss the specifics in finer detail, with support from the University staff. This was followed by a visit down to London and a meeting with the orchestra team. Not long after this, a full job description was developed and the final arrangements put into place.

I have two very different aspects within my role in the organisation. Firstly, I am involved in a wide range of administrational operations such as carrying out Marketing & PR campaigns, editing audio recordings and producing publications. Secondly, I have a large amount of practical involvement within the orchestra, in which I assist in organising and setting up for concerts at high-profile venues and festivals around the country, as well as having the opportunity to perform.

By progressively being given more responsibilities and increasingly difficult tasks, I have rapidly built up confidence in many areas, such as in performing and carrying out unsupervised admin tasks. I have noticed a big improvement in my communication and organisational skills.

The Year in Industry programme is a fantastic opportunity to develop vital skills required in the music industry, meet some important contacts and to ultimately gain an upper hand in a competitive business.

When I return to university, I believe the new skills that I have developed will significantly help me complete my studies. I feel that I will be able to handle stressful situations and large workloads with much more maturity.

I've been working as Education Runner for just over 2 months now and I love it! My role is to attend as many projects and workshops as possible in the 4 months I'm here, acting as anything from Project Manager to Example Participant (which is great as I get to become a child for the day!).

I've been attending Streetwise Opera in Manchester every Wednesday, joining in with the workshops put on in the homeless centre there. Opera North has been working with Streetwise on a programme to develop people's self-esteem and confidence through singing, music, acting, directing and story-telling. They are currently working on an amazing new Film Opera called 'The Fables'. Seeing the development of the piece over the last few months and hearing how much the participants love being involved is really heart-warming. One of the participants has even been inspired to start work on her own Opera!

Every Tuesday I make the journey up to Bridlington where we have our Sing Up! residency. It's a very long day with 3 different choirs, but it's so rewarding. I didn't realise, until taking part in this Year in Industry programme, how lucky I was to be so immersed in the Arts. I grew up attending shows, orchestras, workshops everything! Because of its location, the people in Bridlington don't have these luxuries, which is why the massive contribution Opera North has made has had such an impact.

Monday night is dedicated to OPUS, the Leeds based out-of-schools project run by Opera North. This project is one of my favourites as I find the workshop artists so inspiring! They have an amazing amount of energy which really helps the kids grow in confidence throughout the sessions.

The rest of the week is filled with varying projects from Opera 1 & Operations to Play ON, the orchestral workshops. Being a musician myself I love getting involved in the Play ON sessions as I can use some of my teaching skills to help the children progress on their instruments.

I learnt the effectiveness of Opera 1 the other night when I went to see Turn of the Screw for the first time. Having not even read the book before-hand, I found that from working on Opera 1 I knew the Opera inside out music and all! It definitely makes the show so much more accessible to kids who might otherwise not really give Opera a chance.

It's been a jam-packed few months but Im learning so much working with Opera North and Ill be sad to leave when it gets to Christmas!

Potential clients (anyone from a conductor, to an indie band, to an orchestra) approach us with what they have planned for the next 6 months/a year and then we present them with a strategy of how we are plan to promote them (via newspapers, radio, tv, magazines etc).

I am thoroughly enjoying my internship. I get asked to do many things, which vary on a day-to-day basis.

The basis of my job is research - anything from orchestras in Europe to women's magazines - basically finding out where we can promote our clients best. I update our clients' websites, facebooks and twitters at least twice a week.

Being in PR, you have to keep up to date with what's going on in the media, so every morning I read all the relevant newspaper sections and update the office with the latest news - both about classical music and any relevant articles where we could promote our artists in the future.

I write press releases and proposals and contact local and national press about upcoming events of our clients. My roles range from the small, typically intern, everyday tasks such as answering the telephone to attend client events from concerts to exclusive evenings at members' only clubs.

The skills I have gained, people I have met and networks I have built since I begun working at WildKat are endless and I know for sure it will be a huge advantage once I have graduated to have done this year working within the music industry.