BY CELINE CHONG
Celine Chong is the 2017 CutCommon Young Writer of the Year. Here, she writes a blog about what she’s learnt through her internship experience with Musica Viva. Have you ever taken part in an internship? We’d love to hear from you: editor@cutcommon.com
They say you never really know something until you put it to the test. Until you see for yourself how something works, how you respond, or how everything you once thought might not necessarily be the case.
With these things in mind, when the opportunity arose to do an internship with Musica Viva, I knew I had to go for it.
Not only is Musica Viva an internationally acclaimed organisation, it is the largest presenter of chamber music in the world (yes, the world!). This chance to experience first-hand the key ingredients of running a successful musical organisation was too good to pass up.
So, one expression of interest and a short meeting later, I was in!
As part of my internship, my role mainly consists of administrational assistance at Musica Viva’s Queensland state office, as well as helping out with the International Concert Series and Musica Viva in Schools events in Brisbane.
During my initial meeting with Queensland state manager Lachlan Snow he had told me that I would soon be learning a thing or two about data entry.
Data entry? What is that supposed to mean?
In what was a bit of a shock on my first day, I soon discovered that running such a large organisation requires lots of data. Or, in less robotic terms, you need a lot of information, and that information needs to be organised systematically in some way.
From keeping track of more than a thousand school contact details in Queensland alone, to documenting the places concerts have been advertised, Musica Viva in Schools tour bookings, audience and subscriber ticket purchases, and teacher attendees at Professional Development events – I had no idea of the sheer amount of information required in day-to-day activities. And with this amount of data, it needs to be updated as things change, or as we receive new information about upcoming events.
An organisation is only as reliable as its information. Imagine calling a teacher about an upcoming school booking, only to realise that they retired three years ago! Embarrassing would be an understatement…
It also goes without saying that Microsoft Word and Excel skills have come in handy. Despite using computers for almost my whole life, I was fumbling over more than a few Excel functions and needed a bit of refreshing. My most exciting discovery? The Mail Merge function in Word, and I’m 98 per cent certain that it will change my life (go find it in the Mailings tab!).
Finally, being able to work the Musica Viva events has been great fun. So far, I’ve worked at the first concert for the International Concert Series, featuring Sabine Meyer and the Alliage Quintett, and at a Professional Development event for teachers run through Musica Viva in Schools.
Chatting to the audience members, working efficiently with your team, and meeting volunteers has been truly heart-warming. It’s amazing to see the work you do on paper translating into a real event, with passionate people making and sharing incredible music.
My next event will be the second concert of the International Concert Series, featuring Avi Avital and the Giocoso String Quartet, and I’m really looking forward to it!
So why should you dive in and take up an internship?
For starters, having a hands-on experience is invaluable, and trying out real-life work in the music industry will bring new insights to everything you do.
But the really exciting part?
Not knowing where you could end up as a result, and working with people who will support you, guide you, and open doors that you might not even realise were there.
Find out more about the Musica Viva internship and volunteer programs online, and meet Celine and the Musica Viva team at the Avi Avital and Giocoso String Quartet concert in Brisbane on 11 April and other cities to follow.
