As of the first Saturday in April, the Broadcasting Commission’s iCreate series kicks off their first workshop in the series. Launched in February of this year, iCreate Music will facilitate music education and creative collaboration among young people aged 13-21 years old. The young people from across the island who engaged with the BCJ’s Facebook, Google+ or Twitter pages submitted creative samples in order to be shortlisted. 8 teenagers and 7 University-level students who are passionate about making music or launching a career in entertainment were finally selected.
Structured lesson plans for the 6 sessions has been designed and take place in a professional studio equipped with basic and advanced tools for song creation. Grafton Studios, located in Vineyard Town and operated by renowned producer and artiste himself, Mikie Bennett will be the location of the 6 Workshop sessions. As lead facilitator, Mikie will examine the mechanics of song, define the most frequently used song contractions, the role played by each component and over the course of the workshops participants will build their vocabulary and the creative practices of song writers. A simple but thorough look will be taken at the business of music and in each session the participants will be exposed to real life situations that will gradually become more challenging and intense.
Each week, the participants are collaborating and pooling their musical talents to create an original song complimented by a music video. Each LIVE session will be recorded for online sharing and highlights uploaded weekly to the BCJ’s Facebook and YouTube pages. By session 6, the music video for the song completed in session 5 will be professionally recorded for airplay.
Industry professionals and musicians have been recruited as mentors of the sessions according to their area of expertise. Producers, musicians and well-known DJs including Assassin, Nadine Sutherland, Benjy Myaz, Jeremy Harding, Sly Dunbar, Nigel Staff, Baby Tash, Jah-9 and Kirk Bennett have so far committed their time.
Keep up with the progress of each workshop session via the iCreate Music website: for blog posts, pictures and a media gallery.
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