Tag: LCCM

London’s higher education music college LCCM, and community organisation Living Bankside, recently hosted a joint event at the Music Box, the college’s entertainment venue in SE1.

The event featured a drinks reception, live music and inspiring speeches. The speakers included Amir Eden, Living Bankside’s Executive Chair and Anthony Hamer-Hodges, LCCM Principal, as well as Adele Morris and David Noakes, long-standing local councillors who were stepping down at the local elections in May.

Elsewhere, other invitees included the Mayor of Southwark, former local MP and government minister Simon Hughes as well as local businesspeople, politicians and residents.

“Community and culture are what makes us unique as humans. Creative expression through music reflects, strengthens and elevates the culture around us and builds upon what has gone before,” says Anthony Hamer-Hodges.

“It is important therefore, to be open to the world around us and involve local people in the activities of the college and give our students the opportunity to work on local projects. Our partnership with Living Bankside is already proving fruitful in this respect and we were delighted to host their latest networking evening.”

Guests at the event were treated to an acoustic performance from LCCM student Ramona Wolf, before the party moved downstairs to the Music Box venue and bar for more music from three student bands.

“At Living Bankside, we focus on the people who are living, working, studying and visiting the Bankside, Borough and the SE1 area,” says Amir Eden, Executive Chair at Living Bankside. “We exist to ensure that our people are able to meaningfully influence and contribute to regeneration and positive change so it is fantastic to work alongside LCCM.”

LCCM’s events are not only open to students and graduates but to music lovers in the local community in London’s Borough of Southwark and the local Southbank area. Community organisations can apply to use the facilities at the Music Box which includes rehearsal and performance rooms, a live music venue, recording studios and a fully licensed bar. A computer is available for local organisations on the ground floor when the building is open. Regular opening hours are Monday – Friday 9am-9pm and Saturdays 10am-5pm.

Established artists including Kojey Radical, Moses Boyd, Amber Run, Novelist and Kara Marni have spent time rehearsing or recording from the Music Box in recent months, as well as meeting with LCCM students.

Higher education music college LCCM has announced a number of high-profile guests for its weekly Music Industry Mondays talk and networking series.

On Monday 24th January, the Central London college will welcome Ed Vaizey. The former UK government minister for Culture and Digital Economy, now Baron Vaizey of Didcot, will be sharing his views on the music industry. Lord Vaizey, often mentioned in the media as a potential new chair of UK media regulator Ofcom, is widely viewed as a popular advocate of the music and creative industries. Writing passionately in The Times, Vaizey pointed out that the music industry “is not an industry defined only by the big-name artists and labels we all know. It is a rich, deep and highly competitive ecosystem that must be better understood.”

Fast-rising independent singer-songwriter Natalie Shay will join LCCM on 7th February for a special Q&A and live performance involving college students. Natalie has established an ever-growing presence and loyal fanbase through her explosive live performances and unforgettable anthems – selling out Camden Assembly on release of her last single. Her collaborations with major trance artists Kryder (Black Hole Recordings) and Grum (Anjunabeats) have racked up over 4 million streams.

Partnering with industry trade body UK Music, LCCM kick started the free-to-attend Music Industry Mondays series in September 2021, determined to bounce back from the disruptions of the last two academic years. Each Monday during term time at 6PM, the college opens its 120-capacity Music Box venue and fully licensed bar for an evening of music industry discussion and networking. For those who can’t attend on the day, the talks are filmed and edited into full-length episodes to watch back via LCCM’s student cloud portal and UK Music’s MAP network of other higher education providers. Previous guests have included Nadia Khan, Good Soldier Records, The Music Federation, Mute Song, singer-songwriter Carmody and PPL.

The first talk of the new year was from David Martin, CEO at Featured Artist Coalition, followed in the second week of term by Claire Rose, Outreach Manager at PRS for Music, who discussed the PRS Foundation and funding programmes available for artists and musicians. A highly relevant conversation, given unsettling times for live music and the rise in artists choosing to forgo a record deal and release music independently.

LCCM Principal and host of Music Industry Mondays, Anthony Hamer-Hodges says: “We host these weekly discussions to give our students and anyone else who is passionate about making a living in the modern music industry, real insights from top executives, artists, songwriters and decision makers. It’s always a lively discussion with questions from the audience and a chance to network at the bar afterwards. It certainly makes a nice change from all the Zoom lessons during lockdown. We are determined to give our students and the wider London music community the full benefit of the Music Box, our creative and educational hub in the heart of cultural SE1.”

The latest high-profile guests are another indication of LCCM’s position at the crossroads of talent development and higher education. LCCM graduates include BRIT Award winner Tom Walker, and fellow artists and writers Rhys Lewis and Chiara Hunter. Other former students making waves include Marie Dahlstrom, JOY (ANONYMOUS), Sans Soucis and Nathan Challinor, known for his co-writes with BBC Sound of 2022 finalist Baby Queen.

LCCM’s custom-built teaching and artist development facility the Music Box in Central London features a 120-cap entertainment venue and multiple recording studios. Major artists including Kojey Radical, Moses Boyd, Amber Run, Novelist and Kara Marni have spent time rehearsing or recording at the Music Box in recent months, as well as meeting with LCCM students.

London’s premier contemporary music college LCCM hosted the inaugural UK Music OMG awards at its Music Box venue London, SE1 last week, recognising Outstanding Music Graduates.

UK Music, the official trade body for the British Music Industry, and invited guests from affiliated higher education providers (UK Music’s MAP network) gathered at the Music Box to toast the achievements of recent graduates and their nascent careers within the music industry. The overall winner, judged by UK Music’s Skills Programme Board, was Rebecca Rees a 2021 graduate from University of Gloucestershire who now works at Polydor Records.

The MAP network is a collaboration between educational institutions and the music industry members of UK Music, focused on linking industry and academia more effectively. Outstanding music graduates from the network have been recognised annually since 2016 (except in 2020 due to covid) but this year’s event at the Music Box was the first time UK Music have announced the winners at a stand-alone ceremony. The winner, two runners-up and two commendations were announced on the night by UK Music’s Director of Education Oliver Morris and Nina Radojewski, head of Professional Development at indie record label trade body the Association of Independent Music (AIM).

Drinks and nibbles were enjoyed by music industry guests as well as the nominees and their academic mentors. LCCM had two nominees in Rosie Reeves, 2018 graduate and analyst at Warner Chappell Publishing and Gabriel Robles Saenz who graduated in 2020 and has enjoyed music success on Spotify with his band The Good Manners and works at LCCM as a technician.

“I loved my time at LCCM and I absolutely couldn’t do my job now without the analytics module I studied in my final year,” said Rosie. “I was thrilled to be nominated as an outstanding music graduate.”

Elsewhere, Gabriel said: “I was gutted to miss the awards ceremony as I’m back home visiting family in Guatemala. I feel like I’m really missing out.”

Other universities there on the night included LIPA (Liverpool Institute of Performing Art), Southampton Solent, University of Hertfordshire, Birmingham City University, Leeds Beckett and University of Liverpool.

In his welcome speech LCCM Principal Anthony Hamer-Hodges remarked: “Music educators are like good record label A&Rs or Artist Managers, driven by the same urge – to find, inspire and champion great talent in all its forms. Celebrations like this make it all worthwhile when that talent and, by extension, those that have inspired them, are recognised. Congratulations to you all.”

UK Music is the collective voice of the UK’s world-leading music industry, representing all sectors of the industry and bringing them together to collaborate, campaign, and champion music. Its mission focuses on a range of areas including guiding policy makers, publishing research and being an advocate for copyright and related rights which underpin music.

Last month, LCCM announced Kofi Otuo, a first year BMUS Commercial Music Technology Student, as the winner of its full scholarship competition for 2021.

Kofi auditioned for the scholarship at a multidisciplinary live event at the college’s state-of-the-art Music Box venue in front of an audience, and the judging panel – the singer-songwriter Carmody and LCCM academics Austin Milne and Pat Cotton.