From September 2026
From September 2026, The Guildhall Trust will assume responsibility for running the Portsmouth Music Hub which delivers high quality, inspirational music education for children, young people and learners in and around the diverse Portsmouth community.
The Guildhall Trust will work in close partnership with Portsmouth Music Service as part of a planned transition to ensure that Portsmouth’s children and young people have excellent musical provision through innovative, creative and original activities and sustainable, progressive pathways which nurture talent and improve outcomes.
Through its shared vision to transform lives through music, The Guildhall Trust is well placed to continue the excellent work of the Music Hub and develop it into the future.
The charitable Guildhall Trust, which is responsible for the running of Portsmouth Guildhall, has an established reputation for its’ Get Involved programme of activities which include music development opportunities, a creative skills programme and a creative space for young people called The BASE.
Schools, young people and their families can be reassured that the services of Portsmouth Music Hub will continue under the direction of The Guildhall Trust which will assume responsibility from the start of the new academic year.
The Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Vicky Sharpe as Manager of the Music Hub. Vicky has been working as a specialist curriculum music teacher within the city since 2019 and has held a senior leadership role within the Music Service over the past year. In this new role, she will continue to work closely with Portsmouth Music Service to sustain existing provision, while also leading the development of a range of new initiatives to be delivered by the Music Hub.
CEO of The Guildhall Trust, Andy Grays said, “We are delighted to welcome Portsmouth Music Hub into our portfolio! We have worked with Sue and the Music Hub team for many years to deliver a broad range of music opportunities for schools and young people, which along with the Trust’s other activities which include the production of Dance Live!, a big production contest for schools and colleges, makes the Hub a natural extension of our work with young people in the community.”
Sue Beckett, Head of Portsmouth Music Service said, “Portsmouth Music Service is proud to have led Portsmouth Music Hub for well over a decade, with national and international recognition for its high quality and innovative work. We are delighted to work with The Guildhall Trust as the Music Hub moves into a new and exciting phase as part of Portsmouth’s excellent music offer.”
Portsmouth Music Hub is a member of the South Coast Music Partnership (SCMP). SCMP is a consortium, formed in 2024 when smaller regional Music Hubs joined together to successfully submit a joint bid for the Music Hub retender, and which now covers the areas of Portsmouth, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. SCMP started formal operations in 2024 to create larger regional Hubs, working together to maximise funding received from Arts Council England (ACE).
www.southcoastmusic.org
SCMP is one of 43 Music Hub partnerships funded by ACE, which covers every area of England, to support, deliver and enable high quality music education for children and young people on behalf of the Department for Education.
www.artscouncil.org.uk/MusicHubs
Further information about Portsmouth Music Hub can be found at: www.portsmouthmusichub.org