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Sage Gateshead appoints nine new board members in pursuit of new vision

Concert venue and North East cultural beacon Sage Gateshead has announced the appointment of nine new board members.

Beginning the year with new ambitions for the forthcoming decade, the charity has its sights firmly set on significantly boosting the number of people connecting with Sage Gateshead’s music.

Over the past year the international music centre welcomed over 450,000 visitors, bringing an estimated £14m to the region, although appetite exists to build on and better such figures.

Sage Gateshead’s recently published annual review (2015-16) states that audiences were up 14 per cent on the previous year and 16,228 people from 0 to 89 took part in music-making activities.

Helping to drive further progress, nine new faces will be added to the board.

New board members

Thinking Digital founder Herb Kim, North East PR expert Hilary Florek, former Government advisor Sir Martin James Narey DL and founder and managing director of Conference Collective Limited Jacinta Scannell have been appointed.

With Vidya Sarangapani, Roy McEwan-Brown, Suba Das, Councillor Martin Gannon and Sue Underwood completing the new line-up.

The nine will be supporting Managing Director Abigail Pogson and her team to achieve other key aims: building the reach and reputation of Royal Northern Sinfonia, developing new festivals, preparing for the Great Exhibition of the North, nurturing and supporting artists, improving the iconic building for users and visitors and increasing activity in the wider region.

Abigail said: “Our vision is to play an active part in contemporary culture, community and place through music. We want everyone in the region to know that we are for them, for the north and for the long term.

“We are only 12 years old and there are still a lot of people in the region we haven’t connected with and who aren’t aware of all the music-making opportunities that we provide.

“We have appointed new board members with a wealth of experience in arts and culture, the commercial and charity sector, marketing and technology who can really support and drive us towards our new ambitions by the end of our second decade.”

Abigail added: “It’s going to be a very exciting time.”

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