I received my degree from Waterford Institute of Technology early in January. It was a great honour to be a part of the ceremonies and a day I will never forget.
I received my degree from Waterford Institute of Technology early in January. It was a great honour to be a part of the ceremonies and a day I will never forget.
Studying for the degree allowed me an opportunity to be exposed to aspects of the music industry that I would possibly never have looked into of my own volition, such as sampling and synthesis and other aspects of music technology. The production aspects were fascinating too and becoming familiar with production programmes, which are industry standard, such as Pro Tools and Logic, has been invaluable, thanks to Mark Graham.
Of course, the main parts of my particular degree were performance (major) and composition and so the opportunity to work with such guiding lights in the world of composition as Dr. Eric Sweeney and Dr. Marian Ingoldsby was a joy. Eric's talent is matched only by his ready wit and I remember asking him on one occasion whom he had studied composition under, as it seemed to be a preoccupation of students to tell everyone, especially if their mentor had become well known. His answer was typical of his style, "Bach!" he said with a wry smile, and floated down the corridor like a Jedi Master.
Marian's patience and insight is simply legendary. She seemed to bring out the best composer in me. She would point me in the right direction with the simplest of phrases, hinting towards a possible improvement but without being specific enough as to have done the work for me. I remember one time I was writing a major work for Big Band (I much prefer working with large forces rather than small combinations but that's possibly because I'm lousy at pianistic writing) and Marian said, "I like what you've done right at the beginning, Mitch...but I think it happens a bit too soon!" She's simply a legend!
The performance part was amazing too but it threw up a few anomalies! As I was the erstwhile trumpet tutor on the BA course I was unable to 'teach myself'! This part of my education was taken over by my friends and colleagues Danny Pullman and Phill Collins and I will be forever in their debt for their patience and for sharing their talent and time with me.
Danny is one of the most accomplished sax players I have had the pleasure of gigging with and studying improvisation with him has taken my playing to places I would possibly never have explored on my own. He encouraged me to free myself from the constraints I had shackled myself with over the years and opened many doors, musically speaking. Phill is equally accomplished on piano and his frequent tutorials on arranging and his insights into voicings gave my compositions a new life. His own albums are a testament to both his compositional ability and his playing prowess. Phill Collins Trio
Add to all this Pedagogy and Analysis, taught by Dr. Hazel Farrell, History and Orchestration lectures by Dr. David Rhodes, Jazz History by Phill Collins and Aural skills by Paddy Fitzgerald (another legend), Research Methodology and Arts Management by Fionnuala Brennan and you've got the complete package.
I made some great new friends and even though most of my classmates were (at least) half my age, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at WIT and I'd encourage anybody to consider going 'back to college'.