RSM People: Charlotte Penton-Smith
RSM’s Chief Executive Charlotte Penton-Smith describes what led her to the Society, what an average day looks like for her and what the future holds for the organisation.
Can you tell us a bit more about your career in music? What led to you becoming CEO of The Royal Society of Musicians?
Having gained my BMus at Lancaster University, I embarked on postgraduate studies in Arts Management at Anglia Ruskin Business School in Cambridge, part of which required me to undertake a work placement. I went to Aldeburgh Music (now Britten Pears Arts) and managed their Education Department’s annual Celebration of Schools Music, after which I secured my first job as Aldeburgh’s Britten–Pears Programme Assistant, moving to Masterclass Co-Ordinator a year later. Aldeburgh was a wonderful place to work and I have many very happy memories of my time there. My experiences also gave me a brilliant grounding in all things Arts Management.
In 2005 I moved to London and managed OperaGenesis at The Royal Opera House, an opera development initiative set up in partnership with ROH and the Genesis Foundation, enabling creative teams to develop operas through workshop and performance opportunities. As you can imagine, there was much demand for support and after working with in excess of 30 opera development projects, I then moved to Future Talent, a charity giving financial assistance and support to young musicians whose financial circumstances prevent them from reaching their full potential. I am passionate about supporting musicians at whatever stage of their career and so when the chance to work at RSM came up, I knew I had to go for it! That was 11 years ago, although the time seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye.
Charlotte welcoming King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales) to our newly refurbished offices in London's Fitzroy Square
How has RSM changed since you joined eleven years ago? What do you feel have been your biggest achievements?
Starting work at such a historic organisation was exciting for me. I was recruited to modernise the Society, but I was also passionate about continuing to celebrate our rich heritage and hope the subsequent developments have been sympathetic to both.
Looking back over the past 11 years, RSM has achieved a lot and reached many significant milestones. This began with RSM’s move from our former property in 2015 and the renovation of our current building, which saw me balancing many evening hours of project management, alongside my day job! Having owned our former building since 1931, this move was a big change for RSM; however, equity released from the sale provided much-needed investment income to ensure we could continue to provide vital assistance to musicians in need. Following completion of the works, the building was shortlisted for a Georgian Group Architectural Award and our Patron, His Majesty The King (then HRH The Prince of Wales) officially opened the building at the end of 2018 – a wonderful end to such a significant project. I was also delighted to learn from our late President Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CH CBE shortly before he died, that he had lived in one of the flats in the building in the 1960s - it was as if our new home at 26 Fitzroy Square was meant to be.
With renovations complete, 2018 saw a review of our governing documents to ensure our Laws, originally published in a 22-page pamphlet in 1761, remained relevant as we looked to the future. Subsequent updates to internal processes have not only ensured we maximise the support we provide, but also enable our staff team to focus their time engaging with people rather than forms and admin procedures - something which is greatly valued by our beneficiaries and Members alike. Musicians truly value RSM’s specialised knowledge, personalised approach and genuine care and concern towards all those we help - something which sets RSM apart from other organisations and of which I am incredibly proud. We are a small staff team, which has increased from three to five during my tenure, but despite our limited resources, the past 11 years has seen us award grants totalling over £6.7million and we have also welcomed nearly 1,000 music professionals to the membership.
During the Covid-19 pandemic RSM stepped up its support to the profession. In the same week that the UK-wide lockdown began, I secured permission from the Charity Commission for RSM to release funds to those suffering financial hardship as the result of the crisis. RSM was the first organisation to publicly offer funds to the profession in this way; however with RSM’s staff numbers depleted, I approached one of our partner organisations, Help Musicians, to ask if they would distribute funds on our behalf, ensuring we could remain focussed on supporting those whose lives have been affected by ill health. They agreed, which enabled us to contribute an additional £1.1million to the profession during the period, over and above our grant giving programme.
It is very important to me that RSM reacts effectively to the ever-changing needs of the UK’s musician community. The development of the staff team in the past three years has enabled sustainable development of our grant giving programme, health and wellbeing services and membership. We have significantly increased our communications and have also modernised our finances and operations. This has had a real impact on our work, which now sees us supporting more musicians than ever before. Our events programme offers many opportunities for Members and non-members to engage with our work across the UK and online, learn how to improve their health and wellbeing, keep up to date with our activities and also enjoy wonderful music-making at Members’ events and fundraising concerts including at Wigmore Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.
We are also now far more present within the sector and have secured the support from a number of national partner organisations including Attitude is Everything, BAPAM, Help Musicians, ISM, Music Support, Musicians’ Union and PRS Members’ Fund, all of whom work with us to ensure we can continue to provide the highest quality support to all those who need us.
We are now seen as one of the UK’s leading music benevolent charities and have often been congratulated on our achievements over the last few years. I am always delighted when our efforts are recognised; RSM would not be where it is today without our brilliant team, past and present.
Charlotte during the renovation of RSM's offices
What does an average day look like for you?
Working in a small organisation, no two days are ever the same, which is what makes my job so enjoyable. However, to set myself up for the day ahead, I always start by checking my inbox, social media and any other relevant news platforms to see what has come in overnight which could impact planning of the day ahead. Keeping in regular contact with Governors and staff forms a key part of my day whether it be meetings to discuss strategy or our weekly Monday Musings and Thursday Thoughts catch ups, where there is no agenda, and anything goes discussions wise!
With RSM having a small team, my role is admin heavy which means I need plenty of desk time to ensure I am able to get everything done (which this month, includes writing our Annual Report ready for our audit in September/October). Despite this, I am frequently out and about at meetings and events, all of which help to continue the development of our organisation.
Do you think the work of the Society is as important today as it was at its founding in 1738?
Yes absolutely – RSM was founded in response to an oboist who had drunk himself to death and the impact that had on his family. Throughout our 286-year history, musicians have faced many challenges, which in recent times have included Brexit, the pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and other issues within the sector, all of which have taken their toll. Our heritage is important to our identity, but with the UK musical landscape changing significantly since the 18th Century, we must ensure we remain relevant in the 21st Century.
Musicians’ health needs continually evolve and we work hard to ensure we are able to meet the ongoing needs of the UK music sector through our grants and Health & Wellbeing services. In the early years, we were London-based, now we are a national charity supporting musicians in all four home nations. Historically, all musicians had to be Members before assistance was considered, now we support far more non-members than Members. Our roots sit within classical music traditions, but we are now increasing our presence across many more musical genres.
We were set up as the ‘Fund for Decay’d Musicians’ and our name has changed since then; however from our founding day, RSM has stayed true to its one core aim, of supporting all musicians whose lives have been impacted by ill health.
Charlotte on stage at last year's ABO Conference
What about your work gives you most satisfaction?
There are so many parts of this wonderful organisation that I treasure. Our work makes a significant and lasting difference to musicians and their families and to be thanked directly by those we have helped, really does mean a great deal.
I feel incredibly lucky to have such a brilliant team to work with, who I learn from every day. We all feel passionately about the welfare of UK musicians and get on incredibly well, which makes working here extra special.
Where do you want RSM to be in another ten years?
RSM has made significant progress over the last few years and the increase in activity means I am looking to the future with optimism and vigour.
The ideal for every charity is to no longer be needed, which for us, would imply all UK musicians are leading lives unaffected by mental or physical ill health. Sadly, it is unlikely this will be the case any time soon and we are now reaching the stage where we are unable to keep up with the needs of the sector. As such, we are looking to increase our staff base over the coming year to ensure we have sufficient resources to continue to meet demand.
Within the next decade, I would love for RSM to be present across all UK musical genres and for our membership numbers to have greatly increased. We are unique as an organisation in that our Members are our Ambassadors and join us to support RSM and give back to their colleagues across the sector. Our Members play a key role in informing us of musicians in need, so the more Members we have, the more our networks will grow and musicians we can reach.
Our presence within the sector is vital to our development and there is still a lot of work for us to do, but having led RSM through the last decade of transformation and growth, I know only too well, just how much this small, but mighty organisation is capable of, so watch this space!