Brighton music college announces significant growth
WaterBear, a music college in Brighton, has doubled its student numbers within the past 12 months.
Since opening its Brighton campus in 2018 the Higher Education provider, partner of Falmouth University, has also since expanded into the North with its recent opening of their well subscribed Sheffield campus.
Eve Massaad, Director of Marketing, said: “We have seen extraordinary expansion over this past year. Whilst our dedicated team of tutors and support staff have worked hard to achieve this, I believe it is our student-centred approach and student experience offering that has drawn students to us. From day one our vision has been to support the DIY artist and enable young musicians to take control of their career, and nurture professional, independent and adaptable creative thinkers.”
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Over the past five years, WaterBear has built an ideal environment for learning with small class sizes, flexible and online learning. This also extends to city-wide campuses with free access to venues, recording and rehearsal spaces. Brighton also has its very own venue on Brighton seafront which is used as a teaching space, student social space and venue for student gigs and events.
Eve continues: “At WaterBear students continue to be taught and mentored by some of the industry’s most accomplished music professionals from all corners of the music industry such as music managers, event and tour managers, music PR and marketing, record label owners and musicians.
“They also continue to provide invaluable professional experiences and have recently expanded their careers and industry team across Brighton and Sheffield. The team is dedicated to providing career planning advice alongside performance and work experience opportunities through their partners such as festivals and record labels, venues for student gigs, artist development, masterclasses and Q&A sessions from inspiring bands and artists.”
In support of student autonomy, WaterBear music degrees are designed for the individual with an eye on the commercial environment. This is to give their students ultimate creative freedom, to explore their artistry and interests, encourage innovation, build their skills and core industry knowledge, adapt to change and embrace challenges whilst encouraging them to push their boundaries within areas that really motivate them.
WaterBear’s growth has taken place during the challenges of the pandemic, which created a strange and unsettled time for students when their teaching was moved online. Through this period the importance of community and music was accentuated as music events and festivals were cancelled. This encouraged new innovations as gigs and music collaboration moved online as people came together to connect. Digital innovation has continued to move at a fast pace, and we are sure to see new challenges and opportunities with the emergence of AI. This highlights the fact that the music industry must adapt alongside these changes as does music education.
