Vanessa Reed, Chief Executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Last May I moved from New York to Liverpool to take up the role of Chief Executive at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Moving back to London may have been a more obvious next step, but Liverpool is the place that felt like the most logical next home after six years in a sister music city on the northeastern coast of the US. Against a backdrop of fragmented and sometimes violent world events, I was looking for a sense of connectivity that would help me preserve my international outlook and belief in the positive, creative energy that drives both of these iconic cities.
Like New York, Liverpool is one of the world’s great music cities, with a winning brand, a thriving visitor economy and an exceptionally warm welcome. As global port cities, both once handled around 40 per cent of the world’s trade. They may now be different in scale, but Liverpool shares New York’s big ambitions and has benefited from the flow of recorded music and cultural influence via the boats that travelled between these cities from the early 19th century until the 1960s. It’s also important to note that the Liverpool Philharmonic – which is home to the UK’s oldest symphony orchestra – was founded in 1840, two years before the New York Philharmonic was created across the pond.
My interest in these connections between place, music and internationalism has shaped the way I have approached my role at the Liverpool Phil. From day one I’ve been celebrating the things we already do that chime with the proud, open and internationally focused character of our city. Our Chief Conductor, Domingo Hindoyan, embodies our global outlook with programming that spans European repertoire and music from the Americas, as encapsulated at our BBC Prom last year with Venezuelan trumpeter Pacho Flores. The artistic quality and warm welcome of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra attract guest artists from around the world, including soloists like Nobuyuki Tsujii who joined us on a seven-concert tour of Japan. Our international reach extends beyond the concert hall. Our award-winning learning programmes broaden horizons for young people in Liverpool while also having influence around the world. A member of our learning team is soon travelling to Antigua and Barbuda with cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and conductor Ryan Bancroft to share the methodology behind our In Harmony programme, which supports some of the most disadvantaged young people in our city.
I’ve also been thinking about how we can strengthen our role in Liverpool’s creative future, which will be driven – as with New York – by the convergences between music, games, film, digital and technology, and distinctive original content. In January this year, we presented our first music and video games concert to an audience that was made up of 20 per cent under 25s, 48 per cent new attendees and strong representation from Liverpool’s gaming community, which brings over £22 million to Liverpool’s economy each year. I want us to do more in this interdisciplinary space where there’s untapped potential for unforgettable communal experiences and experimentation with immersive technology.
Finally, I’m determined to ensure that the thousands of young people taking part in our learning programmes have rehearsal facilities that inspire them to be their most ambitious selves. We are planning to create these new spaces as part of a new capital development that will include an “Abbey Road of the North” style recording studio. This will give our orchestra and other musicians from the city the conditions they need to supercharge their international reach and reputation. It’s also a statement about our city’s future. We’re proud of the Beatles but we know there is more creativity and innovation to come.
I’m not alone in thinking about Liverpool’s international ambitions and alignment with New York. Our friends at Wirral-based music venue Future Yard have declared that its borough across the river is Liverpool’s “Brooklyn”. Plans for new film studios and a screen academy are being referred to as “Hollywood of the North” and our iconic 1939 Art Deco music venue was recently taken over by US directors to shoot the latest Clayface movie.
To convert these ambitions into a reality, our task now is to ensure that music – which has always travelled through Liverpool – continues to move confidently outward, carrying the voice of the city into new forms, new collaborations and new global conversations. At a moment when cultural institutions are under pressure to retreat or look inward, Liverpool’s story as a city on the edge reminds us that openness, ambition and international connection are not luxuries – they are what sets us apart. They define our spirit. They explain why we’re England’s only UNESCO City of Music and why I chose this city as my new home.
