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How to organise a music event


Your guide to organising a music event at Royal Holloway University of London

Where to begin

The Department of Music at Royal Holloway hosts multiple concert series and performance opportunities for its students. From the Concert Series featuring international artists to the talents within our staff-led ensembles, to the popular Midweek Music hosted by our Choir, plus the Friday Pocket Concert series, there is something for everyone. 

Nevertheless, we strongly encourage student initiative and for music ensembles to host their own individual music events on campus. This aspect of studying music at any level is such a vital element of a musician’s development, and it is paramount to host your own music event as a way of making your own mark on your university studies and preparing for what might be a viable job prospect after the degree.

As hosting your own music event can be a little daunting, we thought we would put together this helpful guide to organising music events at Royal Holloway.

You lead, direct or manage an ensemble based at Royal Holloway and have been rehearsing on some exciting repertoire for several weeks. You want to showcase all of your hard work and talent in a live music event. What should we consider first?

The first thing to consider is what you would like to showcase.

This may seem like an obvious aspect to consider; however, you would be surprised how many concerts or recitals have not considered this. What you want to showcase (i.e. the music or performers) can heavily impact on event timings, size of venue, layout of the space, who you can promote the event to, to the size or demographic of audience, so you need have a clear grasp of this before planning anything further.

Some basic questions to ask yourself is whether the event will be themed (e.g. all the music is based on the theme of the sea) or whether the event will feature a large central musical item or showcases lots of smaller items. If you do not have lots of music to perform, perhaps consider a lunchtime event or late-night gig?

After you have considered what you want to showcase, you have to consider when. This can make or break the event, so special consideration must be taken. 

As a lively, campus university, events (music or otherwise) are constantly being hosted on a daily basis. Before deciding when you would like the event, check out the College’s event webpages to see what’s on. You could possibly organise an event at the same as another, at a different venue. However, if the audience being targeted is likely to be similar, this would be a no-go area.

As the Department of Music has a busy schedule, you will also have to bear in mind the student timetable. For instance, if there is a large orchestral or choral event taking place the same week (or even prior,) this will have a huge impact on your performers and their availability.  Be willing to think outside-of-the-box. Perhaps a weekend event might suit?

Please note that events cannot be organised on campus during Term 3 or outside of term-time.

Helpful hint

If you are organising an event similar to the interests or speciality of one our staff members, do not forget to contact them with your idea. For instance, if you plan on organising a choral event, it would be courteous to contact the Choral Department outlining your plans. They may be able to help!

 

Choose a venue

Royal Holloway houses many potential venues for music events, having hosted concerts and recitals for the student body and local community since 1879. The following spaces can be sourced by the Performance Manager for your event:

  • The beautiful Picture Gallery situated in the Founder’s Building hosts the majority of the College-run music events and classes. This is flexible space which can seat up to 200 guests in multiple formations. This space is equipped with a Boston Grand Piano, 4-music stands and audio playback system. If available and used for your event, you must have one staff member present for the duration of your booking.
  • The Boilerhouse Auditorium is the most flexible space in terms of seating. Three options being: no seating, 150 seats or 250 seats. Space equipped with a Steinway B-Series Grand Piano, 60-music stands and has audio-visual capabilities.
  • The largest venue at Royal Holloway is the Windsor Building Auditorium (400 maximum capacity; usual set-up of 345 capacity). This venue can be booked for large ensembles / orchestral activities / collaboration projects and hosts our Steinway Concert D-Series Grand Piano, 60-music stands and has audio-visual capabilities. There is also a potential of up to 8 seminar rooms to be used for breakout spaces / rehearsals room / green rooms.

Think outside-of-the-box

You may also want to consider Crosslands Bar in Founder’s Building or The Packhorse on Egham Hill, for an intimate, acoustic gig or small jazz events?

Each venue has a foyer area for guest entrance / potential interval space. Make sure to notify the Performance Manager if you require this additional space.

Sourcing availability and the booking of any College venue must be organised through the Performance Manager. All bookings are subject to change and are communicated via the Performance Manager. Please note that venues are/can be booked by any College department, therefore availability is limited.

Logistics and added extras

Now that we have the what, when and where, we can begin to think of any operational or logistical matters that come with organising a music event at Royal Holloway.

Use of piano

Use of any College-owned piano for performance purposes must be confirmed by the Performance Manager. A tuning can be organised; however, you/the ensemble will be charged for this.

Musical equipment and instruments

What do you need for your event? Music stands? Loan one or a selection of the

College-owned instruments? Need a conductor’s rostrum? Any required musical equipment or instrument that is the property of the College must be confirmed by the Performance Manager. No equipment is to be used/borrowed without prior consent.

Venue seating and layout

If you require a specific layout for your venue (e.g. no seating or a specific set-up of seating, percussion layout, required furniture, etc.) then please contact the Performance Manager who will action this. Please note that specific venue layouts will have to be catered for in the venue booking. For example, if you require only 150 sears in the Boilerhouse Auditorium, the venue will have to be booked during Portering hours for this alteration to be made. 

Porter requests

Any College-owned equipment must be transported by our portering team. Under no circumstances should students move any equipment to or from venues. Please ensure requests are received by the Performance Manager no later than 7 days prior to an event.  

Audio and visual equipment

Need a microphone? Require amplification? Your event features moving image? Both the Department of Music and the College can provide basic audio and visual equipment for events. Contact the Performance Manager for further details.

Additional performer or accompanist?

The Performance Manager can assist you with sourcing additional or needed musicians. 

Publicity and promotion

Publicising your event is whatever you make of it. You can simply create an event on social media and invite friends, or you could create a fuller promotion plan for the greatest impact. Here are some helpful ways of spreading the word:

  1. A ‘hook’: Before spreading the news about your event, you need a ‘hook’. Whether this is a theme bred from the music you are performing, the identity of your ensemble or the type of music you perform, it is always useful to secure this before committing to ‘paper’. Clear and concise is key. 

  2. Online promotion: This should be your next step. Whether that’s a social media event or a specially-designed website for your ensemble or event, this is the publicity that will gain most traction. This will also be the platform that will hold most of your information for people to keep coming back to. It is good to do this as soon as possible. If you are a College-affiliated ensemble (e.g. Royal Holloway Wind Orchestra) and would like your event to be advertised by the Department of Music, just ask.  
  3. Print publicity: Posters, leaflets and flyers. Keep this is as eye-catching as possible, and make sure all the necessary information is there (too much writing can put people off). If you are a College-affiliated ensemble (e.g. Undergraduated, Royal Holloway Wind Orchestra), contact the Performance Manager for College-branded templates. Start displaying around campus on student noticeboards.
  4. Remember you are representing not only the university but you and your colleagues. Therefore, be professional and consider tone. 

Helpful hint

Stagger your promotion. No-one likes to be ‘spammed’ with the same information. Perhaps set-up a social media post and then the following week release an email invite to keep your event at the front of people’s mind.

The event itself

Now most of the fine details have been considered or even organised, let’s now turn our attention to the event itself. Here are some things to consider before the day:

Tickets

Many of the student-led events as part of the College’s Concert Series are free entry for all, with almost all of College events being free for staff and students at Royal Holloway.

However, you may want to consider a retiring collection or a small ticket fee for your event. We would suggest a maximum of £5.00 per person. This is a good way to raise a little bit of money to go towards charity, the music group itself or to go towards the next project.

Programme Notes

It is nice for an audience member to be able to read the concert order and delve into the background of the programme, especially in a more formal classical music event. Why not write a few paragraphs about the music and who is performing to hand out before the event?

If you are a College-affiliated music group, please contact the Performance Manager for a template.

Front-of-House Team

This is often a last-minute thought for some, but often makes the difference by making your event feel really slick and professional event. After all, your audience’s experience cannot be an after-thought. 

Ensure you have a front-of-house team (between 2-4 people) to ensure the audience are welcomed by a friendly face and a team to sell tickets, programmes or simply say ‘hello’. Please see the Department of Music’s Front-of-House Handbook for further information.

Backstage assistance or stage-hand

If your event requires a stage layout change or you simply require someone to manage the doors to the performance space throughout the event, then you might want to consider asking a trusted friend to assist with backstage or onstage logistics.

Interval?

If you have lots of music (i.e. 50 – 70 minutes of music) then you might want to consider including an interval for your performers and audience. Standard interval length is 20 minutes, but feel free to shorten this dependent on your event.

You are permitted to serve refreshments. This must be organised by the event organiser / music group. 

Further information

Contact the Music Performance Office via musicperformance@rhul.ac.uk if you have any further queries or to begin organising your event.

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