denismithmusic
About
A driven graduate with extensive experience in both the music and education industries.
After graduating from the University of Glasgow as a Bachelor of Education with 1st Class Honours 2020, I took up my current full time role as the Director of Music and Education for the exciting new children’s musical instrument start-up, Soundbops, following a 500-hour internship.
At these early stages in my professional career, I have taken steps to combine my creative skills with my passion for teaching and helping others, leading me to my current employment. I have gathered a host of experience in music and education through self-employed work as a self-managed musician and songwriter, and as a freelance songwriting mentor with a number of charities in Glasgow and across Scotland.
With Soundbops, I am responsible for all aspects of our educational development and have spent the past year working on an all-encompassing music education portal for early years learners and educators. I believe that every child should have a right to access music and grow their creative skills, as I greatly appreciate the transformative power music can have for young people after using it as a vehicle for expression and healing in my own early life. I am currently looking to grow Soundbops’ network of educationalists and musicians, and am very keen to make connections with anyone who is interested to learn more about our work.
Aside from my full-time role, I still currently freelance with MusicPlus+, Musicares and the Sound Lab. My time with these charities has been greatly valuable to my development as an educator, as I have been able to work with children and young people from care experienced backgrounds. This led me to hosting workshops at the Independent Care Review Roadshow events over the course of 2019-2020.
I am grateful to be spending time working with companies whose values link so closely with my own and am very excited to be creating new pathways to music, especially for groups who would not typically be able to engage with it. If you’re interested in increasing levels of access to early years music and otherwise, please reach out to me.