Meet Rebecca

In our latest blog we caught up with Rebecca

Tell us about yourself

I studied music at university and when I graduated, I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to work in music. My first role was a summer job at the Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk where I did everything from driving the minibus to dealing with high-profile artists, and writing programme notes and artist biographies. That was when it occurred to me that I could write and that I enjoyed writing – my first light bulb moment. I then managed to get myself a job with English National Opera in London, writing and editing programmes as well as the company magazine.

My next role was as Rhinegold Publishing, which publishes a range of music magazines and books, and I worked as an assistant editor across several titles. Within a year I was promoted to deputy editor of Classical Music, which is the trade paper for the industry. My next move took me to Amazon at a time when they just sold books and CDs and videos. I spent a couple of years there as a music editor writing and commissioning reviews and features. This was in the early days of automated content and customer reviews which eventually took over from commissioned content and I found myself made redundant.

Luckily, I had a notebook full of contacts and I was able to move straight to freelancing, writing for various music magazines and newspapers. I continued freelancing after the birth of our first child in 2004 and carried on working when I could after child number two. By the time number three arrived, the juggle was just too tricky and so I took a break to focus on our young family.

I took on various home-based projects when my youngest started pre-school, and by the time she started primary school I was more than ready to return to the workplace. I was lucky to land a really interesting role at the University of Reading, managing the extracurricular music programme and stayed there for over two years until it was time for a new challenge.

A new coffee shop opening close to home in Caversham was the inspiration for my next move – setting up Cinnamon & Ginger, a supper club which I ran with my good friend Kate. Kate is a lawyer by trade but she too had a young family at the time and wanted to find work which was both fulfilling and flexible. Cinnamon & Ginger and ran successfully for two years, during which time I completed the Digital Gum course. 

What brought you to the course? 

I was really quite intrigued by it and by the prospect of enhancing my digital skills. I had been thinking about attending and one night it popped up on my Facebook feed. I went to the website and read about what the course entailed. I looked at what the commitment was and felt I could manage it around the children as it fitted in perfectly with the school run.

How did you feel day one? 

Excited! I had a real desire to learn new things and it was thrilling to be back in the classroom with a really interesting and diverse group of people. 

What did you learn and what were your takeaways from the course?

My biggest take-away was definitely that confidence of knowing that you have many skills even if you haven't had a traditional career path. My career to date felt a bit squiggly: I'd started off in journalism, and then ended up in music in a different kind of role before setting up a cookery business that had nothing to do with anything I did before. During the course I realised that every single experience I had had value, including having children, with the multi-juggle that goes with them, the time management and multitasking. It was important to see the value in all of my career choices and what they added to my experience rather than thinking I've just done that because it worked around the family.

It was good to have the opportunity to do things I was really confident about, like writing blogs, but then there were things that were totally out of my comfort zone like, 3D-printing, which was a whole new concept, and the programming that we learned. I've never done anything like that before and I loved that my knowledge was broadened by touching on so many topics. 

What I thought was brilliant about the course was that it didn't feel like it was aimed at a very specific group of people. It was for people who wanted to learn, to return to work, even people who had their own businesses. It was inspiring being in a room with people with so many different experiences and different intentions. 

What I really loved about the course was that it felt like it gave us opportunities to grow rather than stick in one channel. I think what makes it particularly special is working with a charity – I loved applying what we were learning to a real-life project and seeing first-hand the impact you can have. It was really rewarding and I was especially delighted that our charity was Smartworks, which helps women get back into the workplace. What also made the course fun was the opportunity to work as a team - it was great to get to know everyone and see how we could both play to our strengths and try to develop our weaknesses. 

So were you one of the students who did your homework straight away or were you the night before or sat in the classroom?

I'm a journalist by trade and we thrive on deadlines – working late or producing work at the last minute is our thing. I'm sure it would have been last minute because that's just how I work.

How did you feel about the pitch to the charity?

I quite enjoy presenting so I really enjoyed it. Plus we were in a really safe and supporting environment where nobody was judging us. The support within the group made a real difference.

What are you up to now? Employed, job hunting or have you set up a business? 

The supper club was going really well and we even took on a second venue Goring. We were really busy with events selling out months in advance. But then our main venue had a change of ownership which meant we couldn't run the supper club on our regular Thursday so we decided to pull the plug on it. It just felt like it was the right time. I think it was a brilliant transition between where we were and where we really wanted to be.

 One thing that came back to me from doing the course was the concept of passion projects, and as much as I love cooking, what I really, really love is music. So I decided to look for a job in music again. I applied for three roles and managed to land the one I wanted most of all. Since January 2019 I’ve been proud to work for the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) as part of LSO Discovery, the orchestra’s education and outreach team. I work with young musicians emerging into the profession as well as with members of the LSO. I curate the LSO’s programme of free lunchtime concerts, manage our series of open rehearsals, and co-ordinate an international coaching programme in Aix-en-Provence. I’m based in the Barbican, which is such a thrilling place to be. I love popping into the hall and hearing the world-class orchestra rehearse – it really feels like a privilege to be there and have the job I do. 

How has lock down been for you?

I had two weeks of working from home at the beginning of lockdown and then I was furloughed for four months. I really missed working and the structure to my week, but I felt lucky having the extra time to help support my children through what has been a really challenging time for them all. It was wonderful to return to work in August. I’m working from home for now but all being well I’ll be running concerts in London again from October, which is so exciting.

My mum celebrated a landmark birthday in mid-May. Sadly, her planned celebrations had to be cancelled, so to try and compensate I made her a video of messages from friends and family all over the world using skills I’d learnt on the Digital Gum course. Without the course I wouldn’t have even thought of making a video let alone known how to edit more than 50 separate videos together.

As a singer yourself how have video rehearsals been? 

I’ve been a member of Reading Phoenix Choir for almost 20 years, so the absence of rehearsals and concerts during lockdown has left a massive hole in my life. We have continued to rehearse over Zoom, but I find it really difficult as it’s a bit like karaoke and not at all like singing in a choir. For me, choir is about physically standing near people – it’s so hard to explain and impossible to quantify, but when you are together, you breathing together and you feel it together. Nothing can replicate that.