Encore, encore! Did you feel the floor shaking at our Digbeth campus on Thursday 11th May? That was no earthquake – it was the sound of 26 young guitarists rocking out at Services for Education’s Electric Guitar Essentials Day, proudly hosted by The Crossing.
The day was another ticket to stardom for young musicians from 15 local Birmingham schools, as they got to come and play at a real venue. No effort was spared, with their show under the professional setup of lights, sound and a real stage… with a crowd of cheering parents!
Services for Education (SFE) are an esteemed frequent collaborator of South & City College Birmingham, bringing together music opportunities for school children such as a Rock & Pop Gala we hosted in March. This Guitar Essentials day is an annual event, with SFE tutors holding workshops throughout the day at our Digbeth campus on guitar techniques. All our visiting student rock-stars had memorised a short set by the afternoon of Nirvana, The Police, Bon Jovi and even a touch of 12-bar blues to perform live with a band.
Nils Edstrom, Lecturer of Music (Higher Education), said: “The event was superb and it was the 1st Electric Guitar Essentials show back since COVID. There was a real range of skills on display amongst the pupils who were at different stages of their instrumental journey.
“What is so nice about this event is that they all get the experience of playing together in an epic ensemble on a professional stage. It was lovely to meet them all and I’m looking forward to seeing many of them again next year for the SFE Rock and Pop Gala show in April.”
Stuart Birnie, Head of Music Service for Services For Education Birmingham, said of the day: “We do the Guitar Essentials every year at the college’s Digbeth campus because of the great facilities, with help from the very supportive Nils Edstrom.
“This is part of SFE’s mission as a music service. It’s important for our pupils to see these sorts of venues. We teach 32,000 kids every week across the city’s schools, but we also want to give them authentic venues to play in. The reason we don’t use school halls is so obvious to see. Here you’ve got the lighting, you’ve got the sound, you’ve got the stage, you’ve got the vision. Nils puts on a great show.”
And so did the young musicians! A talented bunch we would proudly welcome onto a Music course at South & City College Birmingham. Thank you to our guest students, to SFE for making such a huge different to these young musicians, and to our Digbeth staff for another scorching collab. Keep your eyes (and ears) out for our next team-up!
Want to learn from the best music scene in Digbeth, whether in Production or Performance? Check out South & City College Birmingham’s Music Courses.