A Manchester-based music agency which creates ‘made to measure’ ensembles for top parties and society events is heading to the Lowry Hotel.
Highly talented musicians come as standard when organisers of prestigious events contact Manchester-based Bloomsbury Music.
But Bloomsbury bosses Matt Glossop and Rory Russell know that looking the part is almost as important for musicians who perform at top class occasions.
Matt explains: ‘We’re aware that organisers of glamorous events in prestigious locations want the very best. Our musicians are certainly that. But we also appreciate that they have to look the part. When we say our guys are in black tie, we don’t mean that they picked up a suit at Topman and added a dickie bow, they are wearing fine tailoring.’
Bloomsbury Music offers a ‘specialist music service’ that raises the reputation of the North, when it comes to music performance direction and planning. With their roster of talented, versatile and stylish players and singers, Bloomsbury curates sophisticated, high quality performances, an exceptional service which has led to their forthcoming Christmas season partnership with The Lowry Hotel.
Set around a Dickensian theme, Bloomsbury will be working with The Lowry to create musical performances in the five star hotel over the festive period. The performances will range from a brass quintet playing carols to a chamber choir serenading hotel guests, all decked out in traditional costumes, true to the festive theme. Bloomsbury co-founder Matt, who lives in Heaton Chapel, Stockport, is excited to be in the infancy of this relationship with this prestigious hotel.
Matt and Rory founded Bloomsbury two years ago as two accomplished musicians, Royal Northern College of Music alumni and individuals who believed a Manchester-based specialist agency could buck the trends of a London-dominated industry. Before founding Bloomsbury, violinist Matt Glossop enjoyed a distinguished career recording for Sony Music, playing with the Strictly Come Dancing orchestra and even playing for Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Eurovision song contest, among many other distinguished roles. Equally, Rory Russell was a busy classical guitarist performing across Europe and Asia, working for the BBC and Classic FM as well as recording with the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet.
Scaling down these high-flying careers to concentrate on Bloomsbury as their full-time jobs, Matt and Rory now handpick their own freelance musical work, enabling them to focus on delivering the service that Bloomsbury set out to provide. This focus runs through everything Bloomsbury handles, including the name itself. Citing the heritage of Rory’s family (the Russells), the developers of the Bloomsbury area of London, Matt said it took some time to figure out a name for the company, explaining how the sophistication and quality implicit in the name appealed to them.
‘If someone says Bloomsbury Music it should automatically sound like good quality’. Matt added: ‘What sets Bloomsbury apart from other music agencies is that we are really consulting and helping the clients. It is all about understanding the idea of what the client wants and the music they like, and then from there we can create something special for their occasion.
‘In my eyes there is nothing like this here in the North of England. There are very good agencies in London but they deal more with the entertainment, rather than just music. We are holding our hands up and saying we are purely focussing on music so that we can focus on doing the very best.’
However, Bloomsbury’s work with The Lowry represents another chapter in the music agency’s development. With up to 150 artists on their books, Bloomsbury has spent its two years in the industry supplying the most gifted, sophisticated musicians for the most classy corporate events, weddings and celebrations. Matt and Rory’s focus on creating bespoke groups and performances with great care has led to many of their artists being summoned to super-yachts in Monaco, society events in London and Cheshire, to down-to-earth weddings in Aberdeen.
Now preferred suppliers for The Lowry, Bloomsbury has its eyes on the future and expansion. But Matt believes that staying in Manchester remains an integral part of the Bloomsbury brand. ‘We will obviously always keep our roots in Manchester and Cheshire, but in time we want to have an agent in London, an agent in South France and an agent in Dubai. We want to redefine live music, set trends and turn things on their heads. We are always striving to be the best in the country.’ w
For more information visit www.bloomsburymusic.com Tel: 0161 964 1579
