BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
What if your music career could send you soaring among the greatest performers in the world, soaking up the most beautiful concert venues, and working with renowned orchestras? And what if you could do it all without needing to pick up an instrument?
With the Australian Youth Orchestra’s programs, doors into the music industry begin to open — and they are not exclusive to performers. The dreamy situation described above is just a day in the life of Elizabeth Hayllar, who, after undertaking the AYO’s Orchestral Management course in 2004, went on to work in leadership roles in music across Australia and internationally before founding her own business: Hayllar Music Tours.
In this interview, Elizabeth sheds light on what emerging artists can expect from the the Orchestral Management program that helped launch her career, so you can think about how it could serve your own dreams in music, too.
Elizabeth, thanks so much for chatting with us. You took part in the AYO’s Orchestral Management program quite some time ago: in 2004! Tell us a bit about your career in the time since.
Following the AYO’s Orchestral Management program, I was lucky enough to get a job working at Musica Viva Australia in their operations department. I worked in operations for their education program and then for their international concert series, and enjoyed my time there very much.
I was very keen to spend some time overseas, so after three-and-a-half years at Musica Viva, I moved to London to start working for Intermusica Artists’ Management. I worked in their touring department, organising tours for the greatest orchestras and choirs to visit the most prestigious festivals and venues in the world, and I loved every moment of it — especially meeting the musicians and hearing the performances.
After six years, I decided to return to Sydney. Using the experience I had gained in London, I started my own touring company — Hayllar Music Tours.
Before we chat more about Hayllar, I’d like you to take us back to your earliest days and time learning about your industry. At what point in your emerging career did you realise you wanted to get into orchestral management as a field?
At university, I worked in the Music Performance Unit at the University of New South Wales, and I also worked for the Australian Girls’ Choir. These experiences sparked my interest in arts management, and were the reason I decided to apply for the AYO course.
I found the AYO’s Orchestral Management program very inspiring. The program’s tutor Marcus Hogdson gave the program participants a good overview of the different and varied positions available in the arts management sector.
I would say that this program, and the opportunities that followed, cemented my decision to work in arts management.
So why did you find the program inspiring, at the time? And why do you think it continues to inspire emerging practitioners?
I thought the AYO program would be a good opportunity to learn more about arts management and to gain experience in orchestral operations. The program also offered work experience placements for a small number of participants at the end of the program, in companies such as Oz Opera, Musica Viva Australia, and the AYO. Such opportunities were otherwise hard to find, and I thought that if I could get one of these placements, it would assist me to break into the world of arts management.
What are some of the key impressions or lessons you still remember from this program, now 16 years after completion?
I remember we had the chance to put into practice the lessons we were learning, such as stage-managing AYO concerts that were being broadcast live on ABC Classic FM. I found these helpful and very exciting.
After you finished the AYO program, what was the first ‘big break’ you got in the arts industry — and how important do you think this program was in influencing your ability to obtain or sustain that role?
I was delighted to be awarded the Oz Opera work experience placement by the AYO following the course, and to work for the company in Melbourne for six weeks, which gave me much excellent experience.
In addition, the AYO program tutor Marcus Hodgson was the head of operations at Musica Viva Australia, and he helped me to get an internship at the organisation. Not long after the internship started, a position became vacant in the operations department, which I was thrilled to get. This was the start of my career in arts management.
How have you continued to use your AYO education in your career today? Specifically, how did it give you the knowledge to establish Hayllar Music Tours?
The AYO Orchestral Management program enabled me to find a job in arts management. The knowledge I gained on the course, as well as the experience I gained at Musica Viva Australia and Intermusica in relation to setting up and managing tours, gave me the knowledge and experience to start Hayllar Music Tours.
Having taken on a leadership role in the arts, what do you think are some of the key qualities required in an arts manager?
I think you need to be passionate about the arts, be hard working, meticulous, and care about the future development of the arts.
Since your time with AYO, you have had such a successful career, working with so many orchestras, venues, and festivals, as well as starting Hayllar Music Tours. The arts is a particularly challenging industry — think: funding challenges, pressures of perfection and competition. So what has given you the drive to stay in this field for so long?
I think, to stay in this field, one needs to really care about the arts and about the importance of the arts to society. I enjoy going to work every day. I love arranging tours for guests to visit the leading opera houses and festivals of the world, and then seeing the enjoyment the guests receive from our tours. I am also passionate about setting up tours for choirs and orchestras and giving musicians — particularly young musicians — the opportunity to perform in incredible venues, and to receive tutorials and guidance from professional musicians from the world’s greatest choirs and orchestras.
To see young Australian musicians interacting with and being taught by players from the Berliner Philharmoniker, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and many more of the world’s great orchestras is what makes all the hard work so worthwhile.
To those who might apply for the Orchestral Management program, how do you think they should engage in order to get the most out of the experience?
I think participants should see their tutors as a fount of knowledge about the industry. My advice is to always ask questions, because the tutors are the people with years of experience and understanding, and they can open up the world of opportunities in the field of arts management.
There are so many unique and varied ways to work in the arts, and it is only really once you are inside the industry that these exciting opportunities become apparent. The AYO Orchestral Management program is a perfect way into this exciting and rewarding industry.
The Australian Youth Orchestra’s arts administration and composition programs are now open for application. Stay tuned as we team up to bring you more interviews with artists who work behind the stage!
Image of Elizabeth supplied.
National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing credit Vera and Jean-Cristophe via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
