“Changing the face of music tuition” Sunday Times

The UK’s award winning Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) and rising star Rokhsan Heydari are to visit Stratford-upon-Avon College and Cox’s Yard on Thursday, February 25 to offer aspiring teenagers an insight into pursuing a career in the UK music industry. The date is one of several for ACM having previously achieved widespread support throughout Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. Now in its second year, ACM On Tour will also include stops in Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and the West-Midlands.

Recent ACM graduate Rokshan will perform, before speaking to pupils about life as an ACM student and making the crossover into having a career within the modern music industry. Since graduating, Rokhsan has toured extensively, including performances at Glastonburyand SXSW, after being snapped up by Crown Management, who also represent Sugababes and The Noisettes. Rokshan will then head to Cox’s Yard in Bridgefoot for a gig in the evening alongside local talent. ACM’s Admissions & Promotions Co-Coordinator, Amy Field, and Adam Simpson, a member of ACM’s unique Business and Artist Development Centre, will also be on hand at each stage to answer any questions about ACM and the industry as a whole. 

ACM prides itself in its industrious and pioneering approach to music industry education, and won the Queen’s Award for Innovation in Education in 2007. Now home to over 1200 full-time and 400 part-time students, ACM offers qualifications (from BTEC diplomas to degrees) in guitar, vocals, bass, drums, music production, creative sound design, music business and tour production and management. In the last few years, high profile performers such as Newton Faulkner, Amelle Berrabah (Sugababes), and Camilla Kerslake (the first act to be signed by Gary Barlow’s new label), all ex-ACM students, have made their mark on the UK charts.   ACM has also successfully exported its distinctive music industry education to the USA in partnership with the University of Central Oklahoma with the creation of ACM@UCO.  

‘ACM On Tour’ is an ideal opportunity for anyone interested in pursuing a career in the industry to go along and chat to ACM staff and artists about the possibilities of music industry education. 

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