“20kg of white rice… 6 white cabbages… 2 heads of garlic, was it?” Perhaps these are not quite the thoughts you might expect to be running through the head of an intern working at a music festival. Nor might you have imagined said intern looking for a tape measure and ending up using one of those metallic ones with the clippy bit at the end to get the chest measurements of a variety of t-shirts!

“…looking for a tape measure and ending up using one of those metallic ones with the clippy bit at the end to get the chest measurements of a variety of t-shirts!”

I count myself very lucky to be working as an intern at the Cheltenham Music Festival. It seems to be the case that for anyone trying to get into arts admin, competition is so high that unpaid internships are an essential part of your C.V. I’ve heard many horror stories about interns who are simply left to make tea and do photocopying, but luckily this is not the case for me! While there is indeed tea making and photocopying involved (and dishwasher unloading, and mailing preparation, and many other basic everyday tasks, as you’d expect), everyone takes on their fair share, and it’s a really inclusive and supportive environment to work in.

A cake

Not to gush — though I probably would if I were talking to you in person — but everyone is really, properly nice. I was even presented a cake from a cross-festival group of people (as Cheltenham Festivals incorporates teams for Music, Literature, Jazz and Science, as well as cross-festival teams for development, marketing, finance, production etc) to celebrate my graduation!

The different jobs of an intern

Friends and family have had a fairly vague picture of what being an intern entails, and variety is the main word which comes to mind when trying to explain what my workload involves. A small selection — in the run up to the festival I’ve prepared mailings of orchestra parts for the Festival Academy; helped to assign scores to Festival Chorus members; kept tabs on our Painted Quartet postcards; gleaned t-shirt sizes from our team of volunteers so festival t-shirts can be ordered up; written two blogs for the website; liaised with artists, agents and box office to assign complimentary tickets for concerts; processed emails filled with information and questions about the various events; and spent a fair amount of time going through every event on Artifax (the event planning software we are getting to grips with this year) figuring out when we need to be in the venue, when the piano will be tuned, and so on. Two cake-fuelled days of this Artifax checking led to some musical-related in-jokes — for instance, if we have two concerts in the same venue on the same day, we have planned a ‘venue turnaround’, which must be accompanied by Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart — it’s a good job the rest of the music team are patient, and occasionally as silly as me!

Under two weeks to go

Now with under two weeks to go to the festival, I’ll be spending more time on production of things — lanyards, artist passes, dressing room signs (plus a whole host of other signage), song text booklets, and the like — as well as attending Festival Chorus rehearsals, and planning camera shots for those concerts in the Town Hall which have live relay to screens above the stage. I’ll also be ordering the afore-mentioned 20kg of white rice and so on — this food is for three culture workshops held by the Tibetan Monks of Tashi Lhunpo. At these workshops, the monks will lead attendees through prayer flag printing, calligraphy and Tibetan dancing, as well as preparing them a meal — I should point out that the shopping list contains a bit more than just rice, cabbage and garlic!

Soon, our festival sprinters and runners (otherwise known as voluntary staff) will arrive, and I’m very excited about this — I’m not the only one from last year who will be returning, so it will be nice to see some of the friends I made last year, and to meet the new faces too — living and working together for two weeks will undoubtedly create many more friendships from all over the country. After a little first night party with the volunteers, the fun begins — 16 days of music, films, talks, workshops, and rehearsals. Each of us will help with selling programme books, tearing tickets, helping backstage, and page turning. Having been involved from an earlier stage in proceedings, I’ll also be doing some stage and event managing, alongside my camera direction in the Town Hall.

Protein-rich breakfasts and a lot of Lucozade!

It’s a real buzz working at the Music Festival — for all that the days are long and there are many of them (my energy-generating plan for this year involves protein-rich breakfasts and probably a lot of Lucozade!), any potential tiredness is completely worth it — the chance to meet and work with so many inspiring musicians and other creative types to bring together these fantastic events is a real privilege. I can’t wait!

A lot of people I meet, once they’ve found out that I direct a Music Festival (and once they’ve concealed their disappointment that it’s one of those music festivals, not a Glastonbury or Latitude — this admission, I realise, is akin to outing oneself as a lingerie model…but for a thermal underwear catalogue) are surprised to learn that it’s a full-time job, year-round. It seems they imagine I work on the Music Festival only on Sunday afternoons, and that I’m a day-job potter, plumber or low-mood therapy counsellor the rest of the time.

“…and at this time of year, it’s particularly full-time. And of course that applies to my Music Festival colleagues at Cheltenham Festivals too. We’re all pretty flat-out.”

Well, this is a full-time job; and at this time of year, it’s particularly full-time. And of course that applies to my Music Festival colleagues at Cheltenham Festivals too. We’re all pretty flat-out.

Holly Traynor (Festival Manager), Robin Purser (Festival Co-ordinator) and Hannah Ross (Intern) form a tri-partite administrative engine room. They are putting the finishing touches to the ‘day sheets’ — intricately detailed, hour-by-hour event management schedules that track what’s going on in all our different venues each day, alongside accommodation and transport requirements. For weeks, they have been intelligence-gathering from performers and their agents — minutiae regarding rehearsal times, page-turners, music stands, sponsor lunches, harpsichord tuners…all hugely important to ascertain in advance, to ensure each event’s smooth running.

First the words, then the music…

And what about me? I’m reminded of the old Italian saying ‘Prima le parole, poi la musica’ (first the words, then the music). Because before the feast of music that starts in 10 days or so, it’s all about words for me at the moment. Working closely with Chris Pearson in marketing, there’s copy to be written for our ‘strand print’ flyers, and all the toing and froing that’s involved in this design-and-print process (I love being involved in all of this). And there’s a lot of liaison with colleagues about maximising press coverage. I end up doing a few interviews myself (I’ll be on Radio 3’s In Tune on Wednesday 30 June, with Brett Dean and Huw Watkins), and I’m often involved in the process of facilitating other press activity (for example, listen out for Patricia Routledge on Classic FM on Sunday 27 June).

The biggest thing on this ‘prima la parole’ front is that we’re within 48 hours of sending the Music Festival’s 60,000 word, 110 page programme book to the printers. As ‘commissioning and managing editor’ (I can’t think of another way of describing this bit of my job), I’ve been working closely with our freelance production editor, Tim Symons, to get all the programme note pages and biographies ready. I’ve been writing a few things for the book myself, and copy-editing all the other articles (we’re running features on Sound Mind, Schumann, Gesualdo, Brett Dean, the Tibetan monks, Ole Bul, Michael Zev Gordon’s Allele and the Holst Museum). And then there’s all the other generic pages and adverts to corral. It’s very satisfying putting this programme book together (and there isn’t a summer since 2002 that I haven’t done this same task, first in Lichfield, then in Aldeburgh), but it’s an enormous mountain to climb just before the festival starts. I’m confident it’ll be a great read, though, with substantial, erudite and thoroughly readable contributions by a range of writers that include Ray Tallis, Stephen Johnson, Christopher Cook, Hilary Finch, Harriet Smith and Andrew Stewart.

Salary: £17,000 – £20,000 per annum, depending on experience

Cheltenham Festivals are among the leading cultural events in the country organising over 560 innovative events across annual festivals of Jazz, Science, Music and Literature.

We are seeking a very organised individual to support the Education Manager in the delivery of our highly-regarded programme of projects and events across all four Festivals.

You will have excellent administrative, communication and IT skills, and an understanding of the education system is desirable. You will have the ability to deal and get on with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

This post is subject to an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check and will start on 1st September 2010.

Further contact details: email Helena Bibby or call 01242 775196.

Closing date: 12 noon Wednesday 16th June 2010
Interview date: Tuesday 29th June in Cheltenham

Working towards equal opportunities | charity no: 251765

Cheltenham Festivals are among the leading cultural events in the country organising over 560 innovative events across annual festivals of Jazz, Science, Music and Literature.

We are seeking a highly organised individual to support our current Director of Finance in all aspects of the day to day smooth running of the finance department.

You will have experience in using modern financial systems. The organisation is currently changing financial systems and this is a great opportunity for the individual to help shape the role of the department.

This post is for somebody who wants to learn all financial aspects of running a small charitable organisation, is committed to high standards of efficiency with a meticulous eye for detail.

• download the job description
• download the person specification

For an application pack please email Helena Bibby or call 01242 775196.

Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 12 April 2010
Interview date: Interviews in Cheltenham on Monday 26 April

Working towards equal opportunities | charity no: 251765

Cheltenham Festivals are among the leading cultural events in the country. You are a highly motivated, entrepreneurial and persuasive person who has a passion for achieving growth and expansion based on your own creative ideas. You will work closely with the Executive and Artistic Directors in developing the internationally renowned Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

You will have a track-record of raising substantial funds, or meeting sales targets, and be able to prioritise and manage a complex workload. You will demonstrate the ability to develop and maintain corporate or individual partnerships at a senior level as well as having the sensitivity to form a powerful partnership with the artistic teams. An ability to think strategically is of paramount importance.

A strong interest in a wide variety of music is essential.

• download the job description
• download the person specification

For an application pack please email Helena Bibby or call 01242 775196.

Closing date: Friday 19th March 2010
Interview date: Interviews in Cheltenham on Wednesday 31st March 2010

Working towards equal opportunities | charity no: 251765

Cheltenham Festivals are among the leading cultural events in the country organising four annual festivals of Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. We are seeking an outstanding individual to support our current Production Manager in the delivery of the festivals to ensure the best possible experience to our audiences.

You will be experienced in either event management or stage management or have worked in a technical environment. Ideally we are looking for somebody who has experience in all aspects of Health & Safety or has a keen interest in this area of production.

This post is for somebody who is committed to high standards of production, has large amounts of common sense and an enthusiasm for live events.

• Download the job description PDF
• Download the person specification PDF

For an application pack please email Helena Bibby or call on 01242 775196.

Closing date: Noon on Friday 26th February 2010
Interview date: Interviews in Cheltenham on Thursday 11th March 2010

Working towards equal opportunities | charity no: 251765

The closing date has now passed watch our jobs page for future vacancies.

PA to the Chief Executive

Salary: £22,000 – £25,000 per annum depending on experience

The role: to take responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Chief Executive’s office and to provide high level Executive support to the Chief Executive and the Board of Directors.

We are looking for somebody with exceptional organisational skills and experience of working at an Executive level and liaising with senior people from a variety of backgrounds. You will have excellent IT skills, work well under pressure and be familiar with working to deadlines. You will have a flexible approach to your work and work under your own initiative when necessary.

This role also provides administrative support to the Board of Directors.

An interest in the arts or event management is desirable.

For an application pack please contact Helena Bibby on 01242 775196
or email helena.bibby@cheltenhamfestivals.com

Cheltenham Festivals are among the leading cultural events in the country, the organisation promotes and manages four annual acclaimed festivals of Jazz, Science, Music and Literature.

Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will be an exceptional team leader with substantial senior level management experience, preferably in a marketing environment. We are looking for somebody who can deliver the marketing strategy for 2010 and drive and lead a dynamic marketing team of 6 staff. You will be results driven, determined and proactive. An interest in the arts is desirable.

Salary £34,000 – £38,000 per annum depending on experience.

For an application pack and further details please contact Helena Bibby at helena.bibby@cheltenhamfestivals.com or 01242 775196.

The closing date is now passed;
watch our jobs page for future vacancies

Creative Science Project Manager

Part-time fixed term, for 3/4 days per week, Oct 2009 – Jun 2012.

Salary: £30,000 – £35,000 per annum pro rata

This project is designed to capture the creative energy from the four internationally renowned Cheltenham Festivals of Jazz, Science, Music and Literature. The project is funded by a Wellcome Trust Grant and aims to draw leading thinkers and scientists into reflecting and building upon the many themes that arise at the Festivals with a common biomedical thread.

We are looking for a highly motivated, entrepreneurial and exceptionally well organised individual with the ability to be assertive whilst showing tact and diplomacy in dealing with people across a wide range of disciplines and seniority.

Working closely with the Directors of Science and Literature in particular, you will be responsible for devising unique events from conception to delivery throughout the specified period. Experience in large-scale event organisation, marketing and production of promotional materials is expected and a science background is preferred.

Download the person specification (pdf or word doc) / job description (pdf or word doc).

Or for an application pack please contact Helena Bibby on 01242 775196
or email helena.bibby@cheltenhamfestivals.com

Please note the closing date of Friday 11th September 2009 has now passed and applications will not be accepted.

Every year we look for volunteers to help us produce The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival. Being the longest running Literature Festival in the world, we’ll be celebrating our 60th anniversary this year!

As a volunteer at the festival your days will be long but never boring! Volunteers should be willing to turn their hands to anything — from looking after authors and audiences to setting up events, from tearing tickets to helping the sound crew. Basically, anything and everything to ensure that this ten-day feast of books, featuring over 450 authors and attracting over 100,000 visitors, runs as smoothly as possible.

We won’t lie to you — helping at the festival is hard work! However, it is great fun with a fantastic festival atmosphere, and a superb chance to work alongside like-minded literature-lovers! In addition to this it looks fantastic on your CV with previous volunteers going on to not only work at the festivals in a permanent role, but also to work in many other arts organisations.

We are able to provide basic accommodation for non-locals, and meals for everyone. We’re also happy to reimburse travel expenses from anywhere in the UK. In addition, you’ll be able to see lots of fantastic events and hear some of the biggest names in literature, politics, TV and theatre discuss their work. This is your chance to make sure that they have a brilliant festival experience!

Are you free from Wednesday 7th until Monday 19th October 2009 and up for a mind-blowing 10 days of LitFest fun? If so, please send your CV in the post or via email, with a covering letter explaining why you are interested in working at this year’s Festival by 20th July 2009 to myself, Jemma Price. You can also post an application to Cheltenham Festivals, 109 Bath Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL53 7LS and if you have any questions before you sign up you can call me on 01242 774625.