"It's worth noting that most of the opportunities came from the lecturers recommending I get involved, supporting me with a reference and getting my foot onto the ladder".
Robert Davies - BA (Hons) Music (Production)
Meet Rob: third-year Music Production student and soon to be Leeds Conservatoire graduate who has already secured a job at Curioso, a video games company under the parent company Blue Beck, a pioneering digital engineering company.
Congratulations on landing a job as a games music designer! - What does your new role entail?
Thank you! My new role is 'Music and Sound Designer', working for Curioso Games, Blue Beck. Here, I write music and create sound effects full time for a variety of games, apps and showreel materials. As well as this, I'm also participating in QA for apps and games, testing them and seeing how I can break them!
What made you decide to pursue this career path?
I've always loved games and I've always loved music. After studying the Music to Moving Image modules, as well as having a passion for games and technology, I thought it be best to amalgamate the two! I'd never written music for games until my final year at Leeds Conservatoire, where for my final module, I thought I'd challenge myself and do just that.
How did studying at Leeds Conservatoire help you to move onto this next step in your career?
Studying at Leeds Conservatoire really pushed me to move out of my comfort zone and to always try challenge myself with something different to make sure I'm always learning. Having that foundation, encouragement and support from the lecturers and other members of staff, as well as the general community at Leeds Conservatoire, really gave me the confidence I needed to pursue this career choice which ultimately, enabled me to follow my dream career.
What did you enjoy most about studying Music Production at Leeds Conservatoire?
What I enjoyed most about studying Music Production at Leeds Conservatoire? Is the whole course a valid answer?
It soon became apparent that coming to Leeds Conservatoire to study Music Production was the best choice I could have made post A-Levels. The Music Production course, through how varied, in depth and hands-on it is, gave me the best possible start I could have had for pursuing a plethora of career paths.
What projects did you embark on outside of Leeds Conservatoire – and did you find you were able to balance these with your studies?
Outside of studying at Leeds Conservatoire, I made sure to get involved as much as possible with opportunities that came up. I ended up working for multiple departments within Leeds Conservatoire whilst studying, including: Audio Visual Technician, Studio Technician, Digital Mentor, Events Technician and also, helping out on open days by delivering talks to prospective students! I also did live sound engineering across Leeds and studio assisting at Beat Street Recording Studios and Blue Fire Productions. It's worth noting that most of the opportunities came from the lecturers recommending I get involved, supporting me with a reference and getting my foot onto the ladder. Stemming from these recommendations, I also worked with Steve Chrisanthou on 8 Track Tapes, organising the videography (which I'd learnt from being an AV technician) for the live sessions we were hosting. I was able to balance all of this through the support networks at Leeds Conservatoire, as well as making sure I managed my time accordingly!
What advice would you have for anyone thinking about starting a Music Production degree at Leeds Conservatoire?
It will fly by in the blink of an eye and quite possibly be the best years of your life. Be organised. Challenge yourself. Use your initiative and be proactive! Don't rest on your laurels. As well as studying, get out there and see what you can get involved in. Go to local venues and speak to the sound engineer. Make those bonds between your course mates and lecturers. Take care of yourself both mentally and physically. Make your networks early and never stop because at the end of your degree, you're going to have so much experience and so many contacts to keep in touch with and call upon. Studying Music Production at Leeds Conservatoire has set me up for life in terms of the knowledge base, contacts and friendships I've gained. I couldn't be more grateful. Also, make sure you're nice to people as that goes a long way in this industry!
Find out more about BA (Hons) Music (Production) at Leeds Conservatoire
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