Alex Carr works as a Programmer for Cheltenham Jazz Festival. Through her work promoting diversity within Jazz and wider genres.
Alex was also the Contemporary Music Programmer for the Southbank Centre in London. A role she passionately held for two and a half years that involved working across all forms of music. Developing bespoke festivals: Montreux Jazz Festival, South Asian Sounds, Meltdown & East & South East Asian festival Encounters. To building acclaimed shows and curated events for international artists through to local community collectives, platforming the incredible talent London and the wider UK has to offer.
Alex’s path into the music industry started in 2020 when she created multi award winning live music platform Amplify Sounds, to support and promote original artists from the Midlands. In 2022 Amplify Sounds was recognised by the Birmingham Music Awards as ‘Best Music Community Project’ and ‘Best Promotor’. Over its first two years the organisation has helped over 80 musicians with live performance opportunities both on Amplify Sounds and wider independent platforms, music venues across the UK from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Mostly Jazz Festival, MADE Festival and the British Grand Prix for Formula 1 at Silverstone.
February 2022 Alex became the Programme Producer for Jazz & Emerging Talent for B:Music, the charity responsible for Birmingham’s Town Hall and Symphony Hall. This role involved the curation of the Jazz programme across both venues. Here she passionately worked to improve the representation of musicians on gender, race, age across programme. Alongside this she consistently found ways in which to develop talent and professionalise artists through mentoring, performance and commission opportunities.
Alex is also a freelance radio broadcaster on Jazz FM, BBC West Midlands and New Style Radio. She uses her platform to celebrate musicians and arts organisations from across the regions and is widely known as a key supporter of talent from the Midlands and surrounding areas, for which she has received wide recognition from piers and artists locally and nationally.
Prior to working in music Alex gained nearly 10 years of corporate business experience working in the property industry. She worked with major landlords across the UK advising them on their retail portfolios, a role which demanded both strategic planning and creative thinking. The knowledge acquired in this time gives Alex a unique understanding and vision as she now moves forward through the music industry.