Inspiring young musicians

Pupils from Goresbrook School, Dagenham, recently visited the School of Music for a day of workshops, and recording sessions.

The School’s Big Band and Jazz Orchestra joined us for a day of exciting interactive music making with students at the School of Music. The students enjoyed an informal performance by the School of Music student-staff ensemble ‘Infamous 5’, tours of the School and Students’ Union facilities, a lecture by Dr Dan Bickerton, and an exciting improvisation workshop led by MA student Matthew Lush, involving current Music students from each year group.

The event was organised by Dr Dan Bickerton, Director of Undergraduate Studies, in collaboration with former alumnus and now Performing Arts Specialist Teacher at Goresbrook, Alex Davis. Alex graduated with a BMus degree in 2015, and completed his MA in Music in 2017.

Under Alex’s leadership, Goresbrook School have formed a series of jazz ensembles designed to introduce each pupil to instrumental performance, and were recently awarded a grant from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation to aid their music making. All of the students involved in the day were from Year 7 and 8, and have been playing their instruments for less than a year.

The day finished with a recording of an EP featuring the Goresbrook Jazz Ensembles, overseen by recent graduate Chris Davis (BMus 2018) and the School’s Technical Manager Mr Andrew Mabey.

After the event, Alex Davis said: “Cardiff University provided us with an amazing opportunity to immerse our students in the life of a working musician. The recording process was professional and students were able to perform and work in an authentic performance space. For students still in their first year of musical learning, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Two of the visiting students said:

“It was a great experience performing in a real recording studio and amazing to see the options I have ahead of me.” (Jack, Year 8, Saxophone)

“Cardiff University was huge! The trip has inspired me to do so much more music; the facilities were so fun to use.” (Victoria, Year 7, Saxophone)

“I was delighted to see our students mix and work so well in supporting roles with the Goresbrook ensembles. I hope that we may be able to continue this partnership in the near future. Congratulations to all who took part!”