EDUCATION
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
ST EDMUND ’ S MUSIC SCHOOL ARTISTIC MENTORSHIP WITH RENOWNED UK ARTISTS
BACK IN 2019 , STUDENTS IN ST EDMUND ’ S MUSIC SCHOOL WERE OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE PART IN A LONG-TERM MENTORSHIP WITH THE RENOWNED MUSICIANS TOM TWYMAN AND JAMES HICKS FROM THE BAND COCO AND THE BUTTERFIELDS . THE PROGRAM ’ S OBJECTIVE WAS TO PROVIDE PUPILS WITH AN INTRODUCTION INTO THE MODERN MUSIC INDUSTRY AND , MORE SPECIFICALLY , HOW TO HAVE SUCCESS AS AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST .
A group of St Edmund ’ s musicians , including Matthew ‘ Matt ’ Bawtree and George Burton from the school ’ s own rock band , South by Zero , jumped at the chance to work with an established band and learn the inner workings of the music industry .
‘ We were really fortunate that musicians of Tom and James ’ calibre offered their time and expertise to enhance the talents of our pupils ’, said the head of St Edmund ’ s , Ed O ’ Connor .
Soon after , lockdown hit and St Edmund ’ s musicians were forced to liaise with Tom and James over Zoom . However , once restrictions eased and with the necessary DBS checks passed , CoCo were able to provide George and Matt with hundreds of hours of studio time . Matt from South by Zero said , ‘ If we had recorded outside of school , recording would have been extremely expensive and potentially could have set us back rather than push us forward ’.
' I REMEMBER BEING 17 , ABSOLUTELY LOVING CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND HAVING THE DREAM OF WORKING WITHIN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY BUT HAVING VERY LITTLE IDEA HOW TO START THAT JOURNEY . I WOULD ’ VE JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO WORK ALONGSIDE LOCAL MUSICIANS WHO WERE A LITTLE FURTHER DOWN THAT ROAD THAN ME , SO WHEN JAMES AND I WERE INVITED BY ST EDMUND ’ S TO START THIS MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME WITH SOME OF THEIR SUPER-TALENTED SIXTH FORMERS , WE COULDN ’ T WAIT TO GET GOING !
' NOT ONLY ARE GEORGE AND MATTHEW INCREDIBLY TALENTED MULTI-INSTRUMENTALISTS , BUT THEY BOTH ALREADY HAVE SUCH A MESMERISING AND UNIQUE GIFT FOR SONGWRITING WAY BEYOND THEIR YEARS . WE ' RE SO EXCITED TO WATCH THEIR JOURNEY BLOSSOM AS THEY EMBARK UPON A MUSICAL PRODUCTION COURSE AT MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY IN WHICH THEY WILL UNDOUBTEDLY ACHIEVE GREAT SUCCESS .'
TOM TWYMAN , COCO AND THE BUTTERFIELDS
‘ We would like to thank St Edmund ’ s and Ed O ’ Connor for also being extremely supportive in our artistic development as musicians . The school was responsible for funding this mentorship and were very active in their communication with the process ’, says George . ‘ We will surely look back on the recording sessions with Tom Twyman and James Hicks in Summer 2021 with great fondness as we move forward as musicians ’.
The final product of the opportunity is a fully recorded , mixed and mastered 5-track EP , which will be released under the name ‘ South by Zero ’ in the upcoming weeks . For further details on the EP , including its official release date , you can follow @ southbyzero or @ stedscanterbury on social media .
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