Rachael Perrin
Rachael is the co-founder of Soundcastle, a Hastings based charity with a vision to positively challenge the landscape of community music.
Rachael was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex and grew up by the sea in Pevensey (a beautiful part of the Sussex coastline). She went to school locally, travelled to Lewes to study at the East Sussex Academy of Music for 6th form and then moved to London at 18 to do an undergraduate performance degree at the Guildhall School. This led to her staying at Guildhall for 6 years and completing a masters in Music Leadership in 2011.
“I grew up in a family of creative thinkers and do-ers. My grandpa was a drummer, my father a composer and trumpeter and my wider family brimming with musicians. My mother worked in social care and the theme of supporting vulnerable people has always been an important one in our family.
We visited many museums and galleries as a family and also went to lots of street theatre, gigs and live performance events.”
Did you have an interest in art as a child?
“I always had an interest in making things and experiencing art and culture. I have always loved live performance and am fortunate to have seen and been a part of so much. My passion for making was all about the ideas - I loved to start things; diaries, paintings, drawings, music, but often these ideas remained unfinished. I find this really interesting now as I can see this pattern in my professional life and it helps me shape my working patterns and team.”
How would you describe yourself?
“I would describe myself as creative, excitable and always curious. I love to meet new people and thrive on the energy of others. I’m always wanting to connect and learn and I find people’s stories completely inspiring."
What motivates you?
“I am motivated by a strong desire to see change and social equality. I want people to be heard and respected and am passionate about the role of creative music making in helping that to happen. I am motivated by my family, my team and my vision for Soundcastle.”
Was there a moment or a person or a place that has influenced you or you feel set you on the journey to where you are now?
“I feel like my journey has been influenced by so many inspirational people, from musical family members to teachers and peers. I think I am a patchwork of ideas, created by individual interaction over many years.”
Please tell us a bit about Soundcastle.
“Soundcastle is a community music charity - building confidence, reducing isolation and enhancing wellbeing. We support vulnerable communities to connect and thrive and community music practitioners to reflect and grow. We work with micro-communities and celebrate the ripple effect of our work through our training and consultancy - encouraging other cultural organisations to challenge their approaches to inclusion and creativity. We are based in Hastings on the south coast, deliver grassroots programmes in Sussex, London and Bristol and offer training programmes internationally.”
What motivated you to set up Soundcastle?
“I set up Soundcastle with three community musician friends, all motivated by a shared vision for community member centred practice. We believed in a new approach to community arts and couldn’t find anywhere to work that would enable us to think in this way, so Soundcastle was born!”
What is your future ambition for Soundcastle?
“In the future, I am hopeful that Soundcastle will continue to scale and thrive - with the core programmes - Musical Beacons and People’s Music - becoming national models of best practice in community arts. I believe that we model brilliant organisational practice and would love to continue supporting others to develop their own teams and visions."
What has the process of developing Soundcastle taught you?
“The process of developing Soundcastle has taught me so much about who I am and what I care about. It has deepened some of my closest friendships, taught me how much I care about what I do and shown me how much change can be made when you truly believe in something.”
What types of books do you read?
“Mainly terrible ones (I am so ashamed to admit this!) I am currently either reading completely escapist nonsense books or ones about trauma parenting as we recently became a foster family.”
What is the most important thing to know about you?
That I love fully and always show up with everything I can to support others.
Please tell us one unexpected thing about yourself.
I think one thing that surprises people is how spontaneous I can be. I strongly advocate for reflective practice and fully believe in it but am also deeply instinctual about decision making so things can change fast!
Final thoughts…
I’m honoured to be part of this series of inspiring artists - thank you for welcoming me into such fabulous company!