30th November 2021
In September, St Brendan’s alumna Hannah took up her place at Durham University to study Music.
Hannah graduated from the College in summer 2021 after spending two years studying Music, English Language, and Performing Arts.
In the summer of her final year, Hannah stepped up to a new challenge: supporting the St Brendan’s 2022 marketing campaign by writing and composing the soundtrack to the College’s promotional video.
Hannah said, “Over the summer I had the opportunity to work with St. Brendan’s Sixth Form College’s Marketing Team, to create the music for their fun and innovative video ‘Level Up’. I had never created music in this style before so I had to approach it differently. I explored with instruments and effects I had not used before then, and began bringing my ideas to life.
“One thing that was crucial to the process of my music-making was hearing the creative intentions from both the Marketing Team and Videographer for the visual aspect of the video. It helped me to create musical moments to enhance the video and emphasise their intentions.
“Working with St. Brendan’s on this project has been great fun all-around. It gave me an insight on how to collaborate with others, professionally, and I feel more confident in approaching any future commissions. This project encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and to explore more styles/genres without hesitation, but also to continue learning about the art of composition."
Her move to university has been an exciting one, as she has gone on to study at a Department ranked first in the country for four years in a row by The Complete University Guide (2018 - 2021).
Durham University boasts internationally recognised research expertise in a wide variety of topics including musicology, theory and analysis, ethnomusicology, music psychology, performance, composition, and music technology.
"I am currently in my first term at Durham University, studying Music. It has been quite a drastic change and there is a lot to take in, but I am really enjoying my course and the city! Even within the first month I feel like my knowledge of music has greatly developed and the passion I have for music has grown deeper. I am lucky enough to have my lectures next to the beautiful Durham Cathedral, which makes the long journey worth it.
She added, “At the moment, I am thoroughly enjoying my Historical Studies module and having academic debates within my seminars. Overall, adjusting to the workload has been challenging, but I know it is manageable and I cannot wait to learn more.”
Find out more about studying Music at St Brendan's /404here.
