choose a job you love by Pauline Ashwood
My earliest memories include music. I was born in to a family where music was important. My mother played piano and taught music in a school in Newry and as children, my brothers and I were encouraged to learn piano. Like most children, piano practice wasn’t a priority and usually involved trying to remember everything Mum had said the previous week and then cramming scales for 30 mins before the lesson. Something stuck though, as throughout my school years I did well in music and went on to graduate with a Bachelor in Music Education from Trinity College and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. I was in my early twenties when I had my first experience of arts administration and knew immediately that it was the career for me. It often involves late nights and unsocial hours but the buzz from being at the coal face is what keeps me going. I love the planning stages and putting all the concert elements together. I love the excitement of a live performance and the anticipation of the audience’s response. I love the vibrations on the floor from the low bass notes of the orchestra. I love the delight on people’s faces during performances. I love attending the live screenings of the opera and seeing the inner workings of the opera house. I love the intimacy of the concerts in St Peter’s Church of Ireland and the post-concert analysis with the musicians. I simply love music. I am very fortunate to do what I do. When I had my first child in 2011, returning to unsocial working hours in Dublin wasn’t an option, so I looked in to re-establishing the Music Series previously run by Drogheda Borough Council. The Series gives me an outlet beyond family life. It allows me to stay connected with my former colleagues and to make new associations. As many will know, juggling family life and career is difficult but as the saying goes choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Pauline Ashwood is the producer of the Drogheda Classical Music programme. For more information see pages 30 & 31.
www.droichead.com
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