Pursue your music career with award-winning industry professionals at Southern Cross University

Among the talented and industry-connected Southern Cross University contemporary music staff is ARIA-award winning musician Brad Hosking – musical director and musician in Amy Shark’s band.

Amy Shark catapulted the international fame in 2016 with her hit single ‘Adore’ and has continued from strength to strength. Amy and her band recently won the 2020 ARIA Award for the ‘Best Live Act of the Year’.

“I’ve been working with Amy since 2011, and this was such an incredible award to win where everyone in the wider team is able to take something out of it, from the band onstage to the lighting crew, audio crew, the monitor engineers, stage technicians and everything that goes into putting on the huge live show – and it’s the award Amy and her immediate team were really hoping for,” Brad said.

Brad teaches the specialist songwriting and production units in the contemporary music degree at Southern Cross University, working with students on crafting their songs, and recording them in the state-of-the-art studios. And when he’s not touring with Amy Shark as her guitar/bass/synth player and musical director for the three-piece band, Brad has a commercial recording studio, Blind Boy Studios, where he works with artists perfecting their original songs, then recording and producing them. He is honoured to be producing one of Amy’s songs set to be released in 2021.

Southern Cross University offers the Bachelor of Contemporary Music at its flagship Lismore campus close to Byron Bay, and Coomera Creative Campus on the Gold Coast.

The music degree’s origins in the heart of the NSW Northern Rivers, one the most creative regions in Australia, has long been a place that national and international artists call home. It is a destination for musicians performing at major festivals or recording at some of the region’s most iconic studios.

Brad said Southern Cross has seen a massive increase in the number of students looking to pursue the Bachelor of Contemporary Music in 2021, with many talented musicians and aspiring songwriters and producers already auditioning and interviewing successfully.

He said Coomera Creative Campus would host its final round of online auditions in the last week of January with Lismore Campus auditions wrapping up on 8 February ahead of Session 1 in 2021.

Southern Cross University’s music studios and rehearsal and performance spaces are world-class, with Lismore’s iconic Studio One29, concert performance hall, dedicated bass, drum, vocals and ensemble studios for solo and ensemble tuition, and full live audio and video streaming and recording for concerts, seminars and guest artist workshops. Coomera campus boasts a 200-seat lecture theatre, an 80-seat 80 black box auditorium for teaching and performance, two large recording studios, and five other recording studios with rehearsal rooms and isolation booths, dedicated music computer labs and edit suites.

“There are so many benefits these students gain from studying this course. One of the biggest things is all of the staff they’re learning from are industry professionals including technical staff, who are going on tour, playing at and producing events such as Bluesfest, and the things they’re going to be learning are all immediately industry current which is a real positive thing,” Brad said.

“The facilities are also world-class, with Lismore’s iconic Studio One29, concert performance hall, dedicated bass, drum, vocals and ensemble studios for solo and ensemble tuition, and full live audio and video streaming and recording for concerts, seminars and guest artist workshops. Coomera campus boasts a 200-seat lecture theatre, an 80-seat 80 black box auditorium for teaching and performance, two large recording studios, and five other recording studios with rehearsal rooms and isolation booths, dedicated music computer labs and edit suites.

“It’s a new facility and we’re always upgrading our music equipment and software, and the rehearsal rooms are full of backlines, drums, keyboards, bass and guitar amps. Students have access to the studios 14 hours a day,  six days a week.”

Brad said Lismore and the wider Northern Rivers region had seen a peak in interest from budding musicians in Sydney and Melbourne looking to move to the creative regional hub.

“Location is a huge benefit for students, with Lismore and Coomera campuses in the incredible corridor between Northern Rivers, Gold Coast and Brisbane, with exciting networking capability for students with industry.

“We have strong links to industry events, and major festival connections such as Splendour in the Grass, Bluesfest, Groundwater, Blues on Broadbeach, and Cooly Rocks On festivals where many students gain placement experience during their degree. Students have access to numerous performance opportunities and partnerships, paid gig opportunities, we organise shows for students, and host APRA AMCOS songwriters’ workshops featuring visiting artists.”

The course is designed and delivered by current industry professionals, with Southern Cross University music graduates now making waves across the globe – from indie rock band WHARVES hailing from Lennox Head, and singer-songwriter BUOY, to musical director of ‘The Voice’ Scott Aplin, award-winning producer Matt Fell, Matt Smith of Thirsty Merc, and US country music number-one hit songwriter Phil Barton to name a few.

For more information about studying the Bachelor of Contemporary Music in 2021 visit scu.edu.au/study-at-scu/music-and-creative-arts/

About Southern Cross University

Southern Cross is a multi-campus university on Australia’s east coast and online, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in New South Wales, and two on the Gold Coast in Queensland – one in Bilinga next to North Kirra beach and the international airport, and at the newly launched Coomera Creative Campus – a branch campus launched in partnership with TAFE Queensland.

These regions all have unique characteristics as study locations – from cosmopolitan cities, thriving industries and coastal lifestyles to living laboratories of great natural beauty and ecological diversity, right next to the campus.

Southern Cross University’s internationally renowned contemporary music degree was the first of its kind to be offered in Australia when it launched in 1986 – back when the University was known as the Northern Rivers College of Advanced Education. Along with the Berklee College in Boston USA, Lismore Contemporary Music School was one of the first in the world to take a contemporary music focus and incorporate audio technology and pop music into the curriculum in the late eighties and early nineties when electronic music was emerging as a genre.

The Bachelor of Contemporary music prepares students for a career as a performer, songwriter, producer, sound engineer, music educator, session musician, musical director, music event promoter, band and venue manager.

Southern Cross University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including creative arts, humanities, business and IT, law, education, engineering, science and environment, social work, community welfare, Indigenous knowledge, nursing and health degrees such as biomedical science, psychology, exercise science, midwifery, occupational therapy, mental health, speech pathology, podiatry and pedorthics, naturopathy and organics.

Applying to the Bachelor of Contemporary Music at Southern Cross University

Due to COVID-19 all auditions will be online for 2021 applicants to the Bachelor of Contemporary Music.

Prospective students will need to submit a video audition or link to their online portfolio and attend an interview via Zoom. Students apply for one or more specialist area, including; Songwriting/Composition, Production and Performance. Instruments for the performance specialist area include guitar, vocals, drums, bass, keyboards/piano, saxophone, or other instruments on a case by case basis.

To apply for more than one specialist area students will need to submit a video or portfolio for each specialist area and attend a separate interview for each.

For any questions please contact fbla.enquiry@scu.edu.au or call 1800 005 687.