Hattie
Butterworth
Journalist and mental health advocate
Born and raised in the West Midlands, Hattie Butterworth first established herself as a cellist, attending Chetham’s School of Music and the Royal College of Music before moving into arts journalism.
Hattie now works as the Editor of Opera Now Magazine and Choir & Organ Magazine and runs the podcast and online platform Things Musicians Don’t Talk About, raising awareness for musicians’ health and wellbeing
JOURNALISM
Hattie is an NCTJ Level 4 qualified journalist. She has edited Opera Now Magazine since March 2023 and Choir & Organ since December 2023, as well as writing for organisations such as the Evening Standard, Strad Magazine, Decca Classicsand the English National Opera.
Hattie has a strong interest in SEO and social media promotion for arts and classical music journalism and also works overseeing the social media for her titles’ parent magazine, Gramophone Magazine. Since becoming editor, she has introduced an investigatory news feature and mental health column for Opera Now and a section on lesser-known choral composers in collaboration with author Leah Broad for Choir & Organ.
She has overseen partnerships and collaborations with the Three Choirs Festival, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal College of Music, Opera Europa and the Business of Opera conference.
MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY
THINGS MUSICIANS DON’T TALK ABOUT
Hattie has focussed much of her attention on raising awareness for musicians’ mental health, inspired by her own experiences of mental ill health. Her first glimpse into arts journalism was through writing about her own experiences and interviewing others about theres. In 2020 Hattie launched Things Musicians Don’t Talk About – a podcast which aims to destigmatise musicians’ health, wellbeing and speak honestly about the experiences of classical musicians.
Through the podcast, Hattie and co-host Rebecca Toal have overseen partnerships with the Royal Society of Musicians and given talks on mental health throughout the country, from the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland to Wells Cathedral School. They also run a talk series ‘Resonate’ at the Royal Society of Musicians, inviting discussion and meeting of minds.
Hattie Butterworth 