Fife College students gain valuable industry experience with RSNO

Fife College (@fifecollege) creative media students have been gaining valuable hands-on industry experience thanks to a special linkup with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO).

Seven students, from sound production and screen production courses at the College, have helped record and archive six RSNO productions in recent months.

Taking place at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, students have been given a unique opportunity to test their new skills by assisting on some of the RSNO’s biggest productions.

Productions in which Fife College students have assisted with sound and screen production have included The Planets, Andre Tchaikowsky’s Violin Concerto and The Nutcracker.

Sound Production student Rob McInnes is one of the seven students involved. Rob, from Kirkcaldy, said:

“During my time at Fife College, I have been presented with some amazing opportunities and experiences. One of the best by far has been assisting at RSNO and Scotland’s Studio in Glasgow.

“Working as a Sound Assistant, I have been helping to record and archive their Saturday night concerts. Through this, I have gained experience working with world-class musicians in a top-of-the-range facility and have even received credits for my work.

“The team are currently busy with their new control room build and installing some exciting upgrades. I can’t wait to get back and continue working as a freelance Sound Assistant in the future.”

Euan Lillico, from Anstruther, also studying sound production student, added:

“Working with the audio team at the RNSO has been the most professional event I have been a part of. Everything was rigorously planned, and you can tell the team has worked together for a long time. Working alongside them showed the standard you have to operate at for an event of that size.

“One of the things that stuck with me the most is the amount of different skills required to just work with the audio team. I would definitely be up for helping out again, I really enjoyed it.”

Stewart McDonald, Director of Digital & Creative Industries at Fife College, said:

“At Fife College, we believe in providing our students with real-world experiences that prepare them for success in their chosen fields. The involvement of our group of sound production and screen production students in RSNO’s recent productions at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the Usher Hall in Edinburgh are great examples of this.

“We look forward to continuing to work together with the RSNO to allow more students to get valuable hands-on industry experience.”

Photograph: (Left to Right): Bill Thaw (Fife College Staff), Sam McErlean and Hedd Morfett-Jones (RSNO), Graham Deas (Fife College staff), Macauly Husband, Rob McInnes, Cameron Reid, Aaron Ferrier (Fife College Students) and Neil Bethune (Fife College Staff) are pictured at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.