Hi! I’m Rosie, Tailor Made Music Agency’s Managing Director and bookings expert. I’m very excited to launch this brand new blog which will enable me to give you lots of extra insights into who I am and what I do, as well as hints and tips to help you when booking musicians for events.
I’ll start by giving you a little introduction to myself and to how Tailor Made Music Agency came about.
Who am I?
I have been a self-confessed ‘music geek’ for as long as I can remember – I was given a toy drum at the age of 2 and I’ve never looked back. As a teenager I took grade exams in singing, piano and oboe and spent most of my free time performing in musical theatre shows, singing in choirs and playing in orchestras. I eventually went on to study music at the University of Birmingham. My course involved writing essays on the history of Western classical music from Monteverdi to Messiaen, learning about and experimenting with contemporary composition techniques and refining my skills on the oboe.
I soaked up every opportunity given to me, going to as many classical concerts and recitals as possible, taking full advantage of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s student ticket deals. Attending the university’s Jazz and Blues Society gigs and regular nights out at Jools Holland’s The Jam House, in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, gave me my first taste of jazz, widening my horizons and expanding my musical tastes. In my second year I was elected Student President of the University Music Society, which involved managing a full programme of student concerts. I soon realised that as much as I loved performing and composing, my greatest talents lay in organising performances rather than being in them. Wanting to work in a field that reflected my life-long passion for music, I decided a career in concert management was the path for me!
What came next?
My first job after university was a six-month internship with the Association of British Orchestras. The ABO are a membership organisation for all the professional orchestras in the UK, and those six months taught me everything a young graduate could possibly need to know about the UK orchestral scene. I went on to work at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, managing performance schedules and planning tours. My next step was a move down to London, where I had always dreamt of living and working. There I took on the role of Concert & Orchestra Manager at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, which is one of the world’s leading music colleges training young musicians for careers as professional performers, composers and educators.
I loved working with young musicians at the Academy, and a few years in, I jumped at the chance to move into the position of External Bookings Manager. My job was to provide performance opportunities for classical and jazz students outside of their studies, including playing for weddings, corporate events, private parties and concerts. I spent time helping the students develop into confident, business-minded professionals whilst they worked on becoming world-class performers. It was always bittersweet to see students I had enjoyed working with graduate and go off into the real world to fulfil their dreams of making music for a living. As I started to get itchy feet and to look for new challenges, I thought about how I could continue to help these brilliant musicians share their talents, connecting them to people who were looking for the very best performers for their events. Some time later, and here we are! I have a website, a blog, lots of shiny new stationary and all the other administrative things that come with setting up a business. Most importantly though, I have a roster of exceptionally talented artists ready to make Tailor Made Music Agency the best place to book classical and jazz musicians!
