Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette
We’ve always featured the arts around Brentwood and beyond on various programmes at Phoenix FM, but we’ve significantly upped our arts output with the creation of a new show, The Arts Programme, which is now going out every Sunday at 4pm.
Our two hosts are Rob West and Claire Gevaux who bring a wealth of experience with them to the new show.
Rob, from Shenfield, has had a long career in arts, culture and sport having worked for a host of organisations including Arts Council England, Chelsea Football Club, Royal Opera House, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Creative & Cultural Skills where he is Director of Partnerships.
He is currently a Trustee with the Mercury Theatre Colchester and also the National Centre for Circus Arts. Rob has also recently been involved in setting up a Brentwood Creative Network.
Claire, from Brentwood, is Chair of Queens Theatre Hornchurch, and a Trustee of Chelmsford Cultural Development Trust.
She is also Director of Programme at Help Musicians UK, overseeing a programme of grant funding and services for musicians, making a difference to the creativity, careers and lives of musicians in every genre and across the whole of the UK, and has also led the creative vision for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park charity, The Legacy List.
I came down to help them on their first show and ended up being interviewed about our Rising Stars podcast. Rob and Claire also chatted to Darren Maddison from Polka Dot Pantomimes and Natasha Radford from the Chicken and Frog, and future shows are expected to be just as busy.
You can hear The Arts Programme at 4pm every Sunday on 98FM and also online any time at phoenixfm.com.
* Even though Christmas is coming up we’ve still got lots of guests coming up in the next week, including singer/songwriter Dom Major, Father Tom Page from The Ascension with All Saints church in Chelmsford who will in the studio singing Christmas carols and playing the ukulele, and Phoenix FM and the Gazette’s local beauty expert Molly Miller.
