For more information, Press release — Wednesday 11 December 2019 images, quotes and interview requests please contact: JANE BEESE TO BECOME HEAD OF MUSIC AS MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL PREPARES FOR THE FACTORY Ben McKnight Press & PR Director Manchester International Festival is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane +44 (0)7716 778850 [email protected] Beese as Head of Music.

Emma Robertson Jane brings a wealth of experience and sector knowledge, including her current Press & PR Manager role as Head of Music at the Roundhouse and, previously, Head of Contemporary +44 (0)161 817 4542 [email protected] Music at the Southbank Centre, where she was responsible for the co-ordination and management of the Festival. Jamie-leigh Hargreaves Senior Press Officer She joins MIF at a crucial time for the organisation, as it builds its team in +44 (0)161 817 4542 readiness for The Factory, the new world-class arts venue being built in [email protected] Manchester, which will be MIF’s permanent home. This new role reflects the Oscar Lister importance that music will have at The Factory, which will be open year-round and, Press Officer as well as other artforms, present around 80 music events annually. +44 (0)161 470 0764 [email protected] Jane will work with external companies and The Factory’s artistic team to mif.co.uk commission, present and co-promote events and projects across the musical spectrum, complementing and adding to Manchester’s world-renowned music scene. She will also be involved in the development of larger, commissioned and interdisciplinary work, as well as projects focused on new and emerging talent, Page 1 developed with MIF’s Creative Engagement team.

John McGrath, Artistic Director and Chief Executive for MIF and The Factory comments: “We’re delighted that Jane is joining the team as we get ready for The

Factory. She has a fantastic track record that includes some of the most memorable live events of the last decade and relationships across the music industry, which will ensure The Factory is able to create a strong and distinctive music programme that will add to Manchester’s reputation as one of the greatest music cities in the world.”

Jane Beese says: “It's a huge honour to be accepting the new role of Head of Music at Manchester International Festival and The Factory. Manchester has been responsible for all my formative music experiences and I'm really happy to be

returning to a city that has always inspired me.

“I've had an amazing time working at the Roundhouse and I will miss it and the team deeply. But this is an opportunity like no other and I’m really excited to be joining the exceptional team at MIF, at this pivotal juncture as we move toward the

next Festival in 2021 and the historic opening of The Factory.

“The ethos and ambitions of the MIF are unparalleled, and I am most looking forward to engaging first-hand with the brilliant and visionary music community in

Manchester.”

For more information, images, quotes and Music has always been an integral part of MIF, including Kraftwerk performing the interview requests seminal ‘Tour de France’ whilst the British cycling team raced around them; please contact: Massive Attack’s collaboration with artist Adam Curtis; the world premiere of Rufus Ben McKnight Wainwright’s debut opera Prima Donna; Kanye West's first ever Manchester Press & PR Director performance; a 7-day residency from FKA twigs; the world premiere of Björk’s +44 (0)7716 778850 multimedia Biophilia project; Skepta’s vision of dystopia and rave culture; New [email protected] Order reinterpreting their music with students from the Royal Northern College of

Emma Robertson Music; and several projects with Damon Albarn, including Gorillaz: Demon Days Press & PR Manager Live and the Chinese opera, Monkey: Journey to the West. +44 (0)161 817 4542 [email protected] Music will be presented at The Factory alongside many other artforms, including dance, theatre, opera, visual arts, popular culture and innovative contemporary Jamie-leigh Hargreaves Senior Press Officer work incorporating the latest digital technologies. +44 (0)161 817 4542 [email protected] As with MIF, a key focus for The Factory will be commissioning artists to make new work that responds to the building. Its vast size and uniquely flexible design will Oscar Lister Press Officer provide space for artists from across the world to make work of unprecedented +44 (0)161 470 0764 ambition and scale and to make work they might not be able to do anywhere else. [email protected] Jane is due to take up her post in April 2020. ENDS mif.co.uk

JANE BEESE - BIOGRAPHY

Page 1 Jane Beese is currently the Head of Music at the Roundhouse.

Her role at the Roundhouse has involved overseeing the choreography and balance of the diary for 100+ shows per year in the Roundhouse, managing the team that produce the music projects in the Paul Hamlyn Roundhouse Studios and curating new festivals and series such as In The Round, which started in January 2016 and featured artists such as Marianne Faithfull, , Matthew E

White, Mulatu Astatke, Ghetts, Julian Cope and Patti Smith and Rising Festival.

Jane was previously the Head of Contemporary Music at the Southbank Centre, where she was responsible for the co-ordination and management of Meltdown

Festivals curated by David Bowie, Patti Smith, Morrissey, Lee Scratch Perry and Robert Wyatt, going on to direct and programme Meltdown Festival from 2010 – 2015 with Richard Thompson, Ray Davies, Antony, Yoko Ono, and David Byrne as the artistic curators.

Before that, Jane spent 10 years working at 13 Artists, International Talent Booking and Asgard, overseeing the International touring schedules of artists ranging from and Skunk Anansie to Suede. She has also worked as a freelance programmer on corporate events such as T-Mobile Street Gigs, working with artists

such as Kasabian and Editors, and has tour managed several artists including the legendary New York Dolls.

In 2009 she was nominated to the British Council's Cultural Leadership Programme. She is on the Executive Committee of the CPA and the Creative

Advisory Board at Help Musicians UK. A graduate of London School of Economics For more information, in Government and History, Jane is committed to supporting the next generation of images, quotes and new artists in an ever-changing industry climate. interview requests please contact: About Manchester International Festival Ben McKnight Press & PR Director Manchester International Festival (MIF) was founded as the world’s first festival of +44 (0)7716 778850 original, new work and special events and is an artist-led festival reflecting the [email protected] spectrum of performing arts, visual arts and popular culture.

Emma Robertson Press & PR Manager Staged every two years in Manchester, MIF has commissioned, produced and +44 (0)161 817 4542 presented world premieres by artists including Marina Abramović, Damon Albarn, [email protected] Laurie Anderson, Björk, Boris Charmatz, Jeremy Deller, Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah, Elbow, Philip Glass and Phelim McDermott, David Lynch, Wayne Jamie-leigh Hargreaves Senior Press Officer McGregor, Steve McQueen, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Yoko Ono, Thomas +44 (0)161 817 4542 Ostermeier, Maxine Peake, Punchdrunk, Skepta, The xx, Robert Wilson and Zaha [email protected] Hadid Architects.

Oscar Lister Press Officer These and other world-renowned artists from different art forms and backgrounds +44 (0)161 470 0764 create dynamic, innovative and forward-thinking new work, staged in venues [email protected] across Greater Manchester – from theatres, galleries and concert halls to railway depots, churches and car parks. MIF works closely with venues, festivals and other mif.co.uk cultural organisations globally, whose financial and creative input helps to make

many of these projects possible and ensures that work made at MIF goes on to be seen around the world. Page 1 MIF supports a year-round Creative Engagement programme, bringing

opportunities for people from all backgrounds, ages and from all corners of the city to get involved during the Festival and year-round, as volunteers, as participants in shows, through skills development and a host of creative activities, such as Festival in My House.

MIF will also run The Factory, the new world-class cultural space currently being built in the heart of Manchester and designed by internationally-renowned architects Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture. The Factory will commission, present and produce a year-round programme, featuring new work

from the world’s greatest artists and offering a space to make, explore and experiment. Attracting up to 850,000 visitors, The Factory will add £1.1 billion to the economy and create 1,500 jobs. Its pioneering programme of skills, training and engagement will benefit local people and the next generation of creative talent from across the city, whilst apprenticeships and trainee schemes are already underway

during the construction phase.

MIF’s Artistic Director and Chief Executive is John McGrath.

mif.co.uk #TheFactoryMCR