Develop skills for your creative career

Here at Guildhall School of Music & Drama we are know for our expertise in music, drama and production arts. As well as our higher education programme, we deliver courses to suit people of all ages and abilities through our short courses. 

We offer courses for those working behind the scenes

Our Skills for the Creative Industries short courses explore the equally important business and management side of the performing arts equation, with evening classes covering PR, marketing, event management and more. 

The courses are well-suited for those considering a career in the creative industries, including recent graduates or those looking to change careers. Already working in the industry? You can benefit too. We regularly welcome people looking to refresh and broaden their existing skillset – and with the chance to be tutored by industry-leading figures, gain CPD accreditations and learn as part of a small group of like-minded individuals, our short courses deliver exactly that.

We spoke to two of our creative industries tutors, PR expert Rebecca Driver and Marketing and Communications Consultant Fabienne Sinclair Morris to find out all about their background and uncover what people can expect from their courses. Rebecca ran A Guide to PR in the Arts on our Autumn Evening Courses and Fabienne is about to lead our brand new course Developing a Marketing Strategy in the Arts, one of our Spring Evening Courses starting in January 2026.

Introduce yourself

Rebecca: I am Rebecca Driver and I have been working in the classical music sector since 2002. I studied music at Royal Holloway, University of London and my first job was at BBC Music Magazine when it was still based in London. After a couple of years, I moved into PR working at Dvora Lewis PR, as Publicist at the BBC Proms. Later I joined BBC Radio 3 and worked as Head of Press at English National Opera. In autumn 2010 I founded my own PR agency Rebecca Driver Media Relations (RDMR).

Fabienne: My name's Fabienne and I'm a Marketing and Communications Consultant in the arts and cultural sector. I worked for 14 years in the classical music business, starting at the BBC Proms before working with three major London orchestras, then heading up the marketing and communications department at Intermusica, a world-leading artist management agency of which I was also a Board Director. Four years ago, I hung up my employment boots and entered the freelance consulting space – since then I've expanded my client list to heritage homes and theatre companies.

Tell us about your current roles

Rebecca: At RDMR we offer bespoke public relations and digital services to a variety of clients – from soloists, ensembles and orchestras to organisations, events and venues – within classical music and the wider performing arts sector. Our approach is tailor-made to suit the clients’ individual needs, ranging from one-off projects to longer-term profile building and reputation management.

We utilise the ever changing and growing digital landscape to amplify our clients’ presence through social media, influencer outreach and online content. We work with clients to enhance their digital and social strategies and use digital platforms to support traditional editorial content. 

Fabienne: My current clients include the London Symphony Orchestra and Highgate International Chamber Music Festival. I love the variety of supporting different organisations and believe the cross-pollination helps my creative juices flow more freely. My level of involvement differs for each of my clients – sometimes I operate purely in a strategic capacity while for others, I'm the de facto marketing manager, creating and delivering entire campaigns, end to end. Keeping your hand in is extremely important in marketing, a discipline that moves at the speed of light thanks to developments in technology. 

Rebecca, what can people expect to get out of your course?

My aim is for the participants to get a really solid understanding of what PR is and an overview of how to do it. This includes everything from understanding when you need it, writing a strategy, writing press releases, pitching a story, organising interviews and sharing stories on social media. I like to think of it is as a short foundation course in arts PR. 

Fabienne, tell us about your new course

The course, Developing a Marketing Strategy in the Arts, encourages a thoughtful, big-picture approach to marketing. Marketing is such an exciting and wide-ranging discipline, covering everything from design to data, but this can leave marketers, especially those in small teams with modest budgets, feeling overwhelmed. The recent explosion of tech tools and now AI, is a major opportunity for marketers but risks distracting us from our core values. My aim with this course is to bring it back to basics - forget peer pressure – what is your organisation seeking to deliver and how can you build a marketing strategy to best support that? (and don't worry, we'll absolutely touch on some cool new tech too!)

Rebecca, what's your favourite part of teaching?

The participants! We always get such interesting people from different backgrounds and cultures. Watching their confidence grow over the six weeks makes running this course so rewarding.

Fabienne, what are you most looking forward to about your course?

The group environment, for sure. The learning is always richer when people can compare stories and bounce ideas off each other. I can't wait to meet everyone.

Book our Spring Evening Courses to boost your career

Our Spring Evening Courses start in January 2026. To support your creative career, you can study:

Developing a Marketing Strategy in the Arts

This new online evening course provides an in-depth introduction to marketing strategy in arts and cultural organisations, exploring why thoughtful, big-picture marketing is essential for long-term success.

Introduction to Arts Evaluation

For producers, project managers, project assistants and those working in the cultural sector who want to learn how to communicate the impact of their work.

Introduction to Event & Production Management

Discover how to lead a production or improve production values within your school, take your amateur dramatics production into a professional theatre, learn to talk effectively to and manage a technical team.