Music maker Sam moves one step closer to his dream

TALENTED musician Sam Fawcett has moved one step closer to his dream of running a music events company.

Sam, who left RGS in 2022, landed a key role at a music festival during his gap year after a chance conversation with RGS head of careers Bob Walker.

Now studying music production at Leeds Conservatoire, Sam gained valuable experience during his paid six-month internship, which included working in a tech role for the Come As You Are festival in Tadcaster.

Run by the North Yorkshire Music Action Zone, the festival featured a range of acts, from indie pop to punk bands – and Sam even got the chance to perform as a DJ.

He explained: “I aided the tech coordinator with setting up and taking down equipment for live mixing of soloists and bands with state-of-the-art equipment.

“Alongside this I was able to learn how to live mix a band, which is integral to certain roles within the live music industry.

“When the DJ they booked cancelled, they asked me to fill his role as they knew it was the path I want to go down. This gave me more live performing experience, even if it wasn't my style of music, which was a real highlight for me. One of the best bits of the internship was learning how to live mix using an Alan & Heath mixing board - something I had no experience of previously.”

Teah Lewis, the programme manager at NYMAZ, which offers a range of free musical courses for young people, said it was a great opportunity for Sam to learn new skills and to help local youths develop their musical and technical talents.

Sam said: “I would advise anyone interested in the music industry to apply for whatever role suites them whether it be through journalism or management and many others as the help NYMAZ provides is brilliant with one-to-one mentorship with industry professionals and even access to other workshops.”

Having studied music, French and history at A-level, alongside doing an extended project in the history of music technology, he says his gap year has been hugely beneficial.

“It allowed me time to think. I realised studying for a degree in music was not the course for me and I reapplied to study music production whilst working in an ice-cream parlour, a warehouse and a café, all of which gave me skills I use to this day and allowed me to go travelling afterwards.

“During this year I focused a lot on music production and building up my DJ-ing skills, including performing and releasing music of my own on Soundcloud.

“I am also currently branching out and growing within the Leeds music scene, looking to gain performance opportunities within the Leeds music scene which will hopefully lead to my dream of having my own music events company.

“My main hope for the future is to gain recognition as a DJ and producer and be able to perform for a living and eventually have my own events company.”

Sam, who was who was a member of the RGS orchestra and string quartet and achieved Grade 8 in violin, found all his extra-curricular activities at school extremely valuable: “It helped me learn team, leadership and many more important life skills. While at RGS I found a love for production and decided that's where my path should go down.

“One piece of advice I'd say to students interested in a career in music is practise constantly - no matter what area of music you're in, just keep practising and learning new skills.”

He adds: “My favourite teacher at school was my French teacher Mrs Lyons because she was always so helpful not even just within languages. She always took an interest in what I was doing and helped me during my gap year to see what I was doing and helped during the reapplication process.”

For more details on the NYMAZ charity and the opportunities it can offer, please go to: https://www.nymaz.org.uk/