‘Industry Week – Music Expo’ to set Nottingham College Music Performance and Music Technology students up for a career in industry

Music students at Nottingham College have attended a performance and Q&A session with multi-talented hip-hop artist Juga-naut, plus a Massive Goals workshop with dual Paralympian Darren Harris, as part of their annual ‘Industry Week – Music Expo’. They also performed in a live-streamed TV show on YouTube.

The Expo was designed to set Music Performance and Music Technology students up for a career in industry.

The College also welcomed back talented Nottingham singer-songwriter Jake Burns, who was featured on BBC Introducing, and multi-instrumentalist Alex Blythe, who both shared some of their industry knowledge.

Another highlight of the week was the inclusion of live-streamed TV shows, featuring a mixture of student performances across all genres.

This collaboration with Media students included performances by both Music Technology and Music Performance students, streamed from The Venue at the College’s Clarendon campus.

The TV shows were filmed and streamed by Television and Film Production students, giving them valuable experience of camera operation, working to a director’s cues, floor management and live vision mixing. 

Music Performance student Lesiâna Benjamin took part in the live shows as part of the band Filtrd.

Lesiâna said: “All I can say about the Expo week is that it was like nothing I have ever done before and it was a lot of fun. It was nerve-wracking to say the least but it was humbling to be able to perform on a bigger platform.”

University-level student Omari Levy-Sterrett performed under his stage name, Omari Marsalis.

Omari said: “It was really good to see my fellow students’ reactions to my music. The interview afterwards gave me the opportunity to talk about my background in music, which was really great.”

The Music Expo also included a DJ battle and beat battle, instrumental workshops, song-writing workshops, and other events.

Andy Oakley, Music, Media and Performing Arts Coordinator at Nottingham College, said:

“The week was a great opportunity for students to get industry knowledge from the experts, perform for an audience in an internet broadcast, and experience marketing themselves effectively through a live interview. These activities help set them up for future success.”