James Attwood’s First Year at BIMM Birmingham
As the recipient of BIMM Birmingham’s inaugural Tony Iommi scholarship, guitar student James Attwood has had himself a fantastic first year of study. Here, he details what it’s been like in his own words.
My first year at BIMM Birmingham studying the Professional Musicianship Degree has flown by. It’s crazy to look back at how much I’ve achieved and been involved with over the past eight months. However, the hard work doesn’t end here, as I look forward to a busy summer of festivals, festival planning and gigs!
Of course, my proudest moment from my first year was being awarded the Tony Iommi Scholarship, which I was informed of within the initial minutes of my enrolment. I will always remember the initial disbelief and my loss of words when Antony informed me of this – it’s not the kind of thing that happens to you everyday. And then came getting to meet the man himself and being interviewed by ITV and multiple other media sources afterwards, after which I became quite the pro interviewee, which I also have BIMM Birmingham to thank for.
My inaugural year at BIMM Birmingham has been a year full of milestones in fact. First came the unexpected scholarship. Then the forming of my band Hunger Moon, who have released a single and been confirmed for several festivals over the summer such as 110 above. These will be my first ever festivals!
The support we have received from BIMM has been second to none. Their facilities for one have allowed us to hone our craft and find our feet as a musical act. Their expansive network of industry contacts has also provided us with a shortcut to managers, producers and promoters who we may not have been able to reach otherwise.
There have been plenty of performance opportunities throughout the year, which I have fully immersed myself within such as end of term gigs, thus seeing me perform and work closely with a whole host of my peers. Many I now perform with on a regular basis, such as friend and fellow BIMM songwriting student Felix Shepherd, who recently won the rising star award at the Birmingham Music Awards!
The knowledge I have gained of music in general whilst at BIMM is also incomparable. My music theory knowledge in particular has improved significantly, which I regularly find myself using out in the real world during gigs and at rehearsals. My understanding of the industry has also been impacted positively upon by my business studies, allowing me to plan a successful release campaign for Hunger Moon’s debut single that gained us industry attention from across the UK and listens from all over the world!
I cannot wait to see what my second year has in store and continuing upon my path of development as a young musician and individual.
Are you interested in studying a BA (Hons) in Professional Musicianship – Guitar, like James? Click here to discover more about the course.
