Music industry masterclass success for budding young musicians, singers and songwriters across the Midlands
Budding musicians, singers and songwriters aged 13-19 years old from East Staffordshire and South Derbyshire took part in an exciting music industry residency in Burton upon Trent in September.
Places were available for the Wired for Sound Futures residency held at The Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton upon Trent from 1st – 4th September 2015. The residency, delivered by local music charity Make Some Noise in partnership with East Staffordshire Borough Council and The Brewhouse Arts Centre had special guest appearances from music industry professionals. It was funded by the National Foundation for Youth Music.
Over the course of four days from 9.30am – 4pm daily, the young participants took part in a series of masterclasses designed to develop their skills in song writing and performing. Working as a group they created three original songs which they performed live on the final day. The songs have been uploaded to iTunes.
Music Industry Producer and Songwriter Laurence Hobbs from Blue Room Music, a top industry standard recording studio providing a high quality recording service to aspiring artists is confirmed as one of the guests to lead a masterclass. As a writer and producer Laurence has written with many acts including Sam Smith, Pixie Lott and Shayne Ward. Through his musical career as a song writer/producer, Laurence’s songs have been covered around the globe where he has written songs that have reached number 1 in 5 countries and received Platinum and Gold discs in Europe.
Bryony Robinson, Wired for Sound Futures coordinator said: “We heard from emerging young guitarists, drummers, percussionists, keyboard players, song writers and vocalists all who demonstrated a genuine passion for music and a keen interest to develop themselves further. This was a fantastic opportunity to work with some of the music industry’s top professionals, meet other young musicians and singers and to perform at a live arts venue.”
The cost of the residency was a fully refundable deposit of £100 after completion of the four day residency. Limited places were available on a first come first served basis. To apply young people were asked to submit a 100 word bio about themselves and their music and/or a 1-2 minute video clip.