About me
Hello everyone! My name is Somi, and I am a 1st-year Music student at Durham in the College of St Hild and St Bede. I’m originally from Southend-on-Sea in Essex, so travelling to Durham is always a long journey, but safe to say it is 100% worth it! As well as participating in different musical events across the university, such as playing in pit bands or jamming with my friends, I am also the social secretary and women’s captain of my college’s badminton society, all of which are exciting and interesting things that embody the spirit of Durham.
Although I came from a non-musical background, I knew from a young age that music would be part of my future. I’ve trialled many an instrument, and I’ve landed on the drums and piano, but who knows what I’ll be playing next…
In secondary school, Music was always a big part of our extracurriculars, and I always enjoyed being involved, whether it was playing piano in assemblies or open days or rocking out on the drums with a band in the evening shows. I also enjoyed studying different genres of music and why composers chose to write music the way they did. I kept this in mind whilst looking at Durham’s music syllabus and ultimately decided it was correct for me.
The music community at Durham
The student music community at Durham stood out to me as one of the largest amongst other universities in the country. Coming from a school where every musician knew each other meant endless opportunities for different instrumentalists, I was desperate to find something similar in my university life. Lucky for me, I believe that Durham has provided exactly that. The number of opportunities that have come to me since I first put myself out there is what I had in mind when picking my firm choice; since Durham is quite a small place, everyone gets to know each other quite well, meaning that one good performance could put you on the market for endless chances to perform, meet new people and have loads of fun!
My course
The music course itself is also something I was extremely drawn to when I visited on offer holder day. My class is quite small (around 60 people) compared to other courses throughout the university, meaning we have a more personal relationship with each other and the lecturers. This helps a lot when I feel stuck, because my lecturers come across as much more approachable, and it’s much easier to communicate with other students in my class.
Compared to secondary school or sixth form Music lessons where you are most likely made to focus on studying one piece of music in depth, I feel as if studying Music here gives me the key skills necessary to apply my analysis to multiple pieces of different genres, which is something I feel is essential for my future as a musician.
In conclusion, studying Music at Durham is something I would not trade for the world. First year really flew by, but I am excited to see what I embark on in the rest of my journey as a student here!
Discover more
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