Music Technology students recently worked alongside composer Gavin Wayte and music group Polaris Duo.

The workshop took place over two days and aimed to introduce Music Technology and Music Production students to a different way of approaching their studies. Students were tasked to produce a piece of music in response to the theme of 'Borders'. They were encouraged to think about the various definitions of the word and respond in any way they understood it. As a result, the final results were tremendous.

Gavin Wayte who led the workshop is a composer, pianist and creative artist. He is currently an arts quality assessor for the Arts Council England and Fellow at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). Throughout the workshop, Gavin worked alongside musical combo Polaris Duo. Individually know as Gillian and Elinor, they are an incredibly talented saxophonist and harpist, respectively. Polaris Duo performed for the students and also explored their instrument's capabilities. They presented the various sounds they can make beyond the typical, encouraging students to think outside of the norm and expand their skills. 

Students split in to groups to allow them to work creatively on the project. At the end of the two days of experimentation and development, students presented their work back to the group. The varying takes on the brief produced a fantastic range of final pieces. Some groups incorporated various musicians in the room, others performed the piece themselves and many also produced visual scores. 

The final pieces were then incorporated in to Polaris Duo's performance at the Uppermill Summer Music Festival.

The project was a fantastic way to allow Ashton Sixth Form College's students to work with classical musicians and composers. In just two days, they were able to build their confidence in approaching musical scores in a way that they have never done before.

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Find out more about studying Music at Ashton here.