Cathy Al-Ghabra

With a background in secondary school music teaching, choral directing and festival management, Cathy knew she wanted to explore arts management as a career, with a possible focus on arts education. She was awarded the UK/EU Postgraduate scholarship on entry to Goldsmiths and moved to London from Wales where she was teaching.

The MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy: Music Pathway was eye opening and informative, with visits from a huge number of leading arts professionals and organisations, giving excellent advice and a realistic insight in to the arts as businesses and places to work. Cathy had the opportunity to work for Stratford Circus as Artistic Programmes Assistant during the MA, gaining instrumental knowledge about programming for a small local venue. Whilst studying at Goldsmiths, Cathy was also choral director for Lewisham Music Hub and Assistant Producer at Roundhouse’s Voices Now Festival 2013. Through connections in Europe, she was voted on to the Youth Committee of the European Choral Association, and was later co-opted on to the board of the European Music Council where she served three terms. Cathy’s network is now worldwide thanks to the Master’s course, where she had the opportunity to work with an international group of like-minded arts managers.

Since graduating with Distinction in 2013, she has been able to utilise the skills she gained on the MA in programme and project management for the arts working in a variety of organisations including Britten Sinfonia, British Council Music and Wigmore Hall Learning. Cathy currently works at the Royal Opera House in Learning & Participation, managing the ROH Thurrock Community Chorus and national programme Design Challenge, as well as  leading on community and singing initiatives, and as a member of the Music Education Council’s Singing Working Group.