MUSIC performance and production students from Wiltshire College & University Centre rubbed shoulders with some of the most innovative experts in the industry at a cutting edge conference.
Ten first and second year Level 3 students from the college’s Salisbury campus spent a day at London’s iconic music venue, The Roundhouse in Camden Town, at Production Futures, a careers event for young people interested in live events, music, theatre, TV or film.
Lecturer Simon Birch led the group after being told about it by student Ollie Maddocks. “He was going because he wants to go into live music production and has been very proactive about finding work,” he said.
“When I looked into it I realised this would be a great opportunity for all our students who are interested in music production and I’m really glad we went, because it was fantastic.”
Experts from the BBC, Yamaha and Entec Live were among more than 30 top names in live performance production who held workshops, gave demonstrations and were available to chat about career opportunities. There were also 19 education partners, including eight universities, there to talk about courses available.
Production Futures aims to connect young people with companies and trainers through live careers events. Its mission is to support and inspire young people and promote a more diverse, representative workforce in entertainment production.
“There was a lot of brand new technology there and some of it was mind-blowing,” said Simon. “It was great for the students to be able to meet some of these experts, ask questions and see them demonstrate lighting design, rigging and mixing desks; and they were happy to let the students have a go themselves.”
He said the most important aspect of the day was highlighting to students how many different career pathways there are in the industry. “It was really inspiring for them to see that there’s a whole other world of things they could go into,” he said.
“We heard people talking about the types of live events that make use of sound systems, lighting, lasers and pyrotechnics, and it goes way beyond music. The possibilities are huge and the students are starting to realise the skills that they’re developing with us are setting them up nicely for all sorts of different creative pathways.
“It also really useful for them to find out more about university courses and the variety of what’s available now, which is amazing.”
He said the visit underlined the importance to lecturers of staying abreast of changes in the industry so that they can help students make the right career choices.
“The visit was as useful to me as it was to them and I could see at once how valuable it was,” said Simon. “The students really enjoyed it and we’ll definitely be going again next year.”
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