Music – Page 2 – WEST

International Music Business Recognition for UWS Graduate

12Aug

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Alumni Stories

International Music Business Recognition for UWS Graduate

A University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate has been named in IQ Magazine’s New Bosses, recognising 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international live music business. Ellen McEleney, who graduated from the BA (Hons) Commercial Music programme at UWS in 2019, attributes her positive experience on the degree course with her success at DF Concerts, where she works as a promoter. Talking about the course, Ellen said: “I had a fantastic experience at UWS, and I credit that in large part to the exceptional lecturers on the Commercial Music Business programme. “That’s where I really started to understand the live side of the industry – and I’ve never looked back. “I couldn't recommend the course more highly to anyone looking to explore a career in the Music I...

23Jun

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News

In Memory of Jim Prime

Renowned musician, songwriter and former UWS lecturer Jim Prime has sadly passed away, aged 64, following a short battle with cancer. Jim, best known as the longtime keyboardist and co-writer with Scottish band Deacon Blue, was also a much-loved academic who taught at UWS from 2001 until his retirement in 2024. Jim joined UWS in 2001 and was instrumental in establishing the BA (Hons) Commercial Music degree, helping it grow into one of the University’s most successful and respected programmes. Over his 23-years with us, Jim brought a rare blend of academic insight and real-world industry experience to his teaching, sharing his knowledge across performance, theory, and the business of music in a way that deeply enriched the student experience. Outside the classroom, Jim was celebrated...

Where Did You GlasGOw? Be part of Glasgow’s 850th celebrations

26Mar

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News

Where Did You GlasGOw? Be part of Glasgow’s 850th celebrations

This year, Glasgow City Council is celebrating its 850th birthday, and you can join the party! The Where did you GlasGOw? campaign is creating a special living remembrance book to commemorate Glaswegians who have taken the city’s spirit around the world. The book will feature names, memories, and images that tell the story of those who may have left Glasgow but still consider it ‘hame.’ If you would like to appear in the book and be part of history, submit your story or nominate someone here. Alongside this campaign, a yearlong programme of events is taking place, including Taste the Place, a scheme providing the chance for locals and visitors to learn more about the history of Glasgow’s hospitality scene by eating their way around the city, Clyde Chorus, a three-day music extrava...

Honorary Graduate Patrick Doyle’s Five Best Film Scores

29Jan

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Honorary Graduates

Honorary Graduate Patrick Doyle’s Five Best Film Scores

Patrick Doyle’s five best film scores – including his pick of an undiscovered gem David Scott, University of the West of Scotland Scottish musician Patrick Doyle is an acclaimed composer of over 60 feature film scores with many attendant accolades, honours and awards. I first met him in 2001 while making a now long-vanished series on movie music called Silverscreen Beats for BBC Radio. I visited him at his office on the Shepperton lot in Surrey. There, I watched, enchanted, as he flitted between desk and piano bringing his creativity to life with his incredible musicality and riotous humour illustrating scores like Carlito’s Way (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Gosford Park (2001). So years later, when the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) presented Doyle with an ...

23Jan

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News

A Burns Celebration

University of the West of Scotland was delighted to host alumni and friends for the annual Burns Celebration recently at UWS Paisley Campus. Following a welcome drinks reception, guests were seated in the Chancellor’s Hall to enjoy haggis, neeps & tatties, poetry and musical performances. Dr Billy Kay, renowned Scottish writer and broadcaster from Ayrshire who has dedicated his career to celebrating Scotland’s cultural heritage, performed Burns’ ‘Tam o' Shanter’ to an enthralled audience. Known for his work on Scots language and literature, Billy has spoken extensively on Robert Burns, including a prestigious lecture at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Billy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from UWS in 2009. As tradition dictates, the haggis was piped into the hall...

Graduate’s Christmas Album Delivers the Festive Spirit

19Dec

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Alumni Stories

Graduate’s Christmas Album Delivers the Festive Spirit

A Christmas album by a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate is sure to deliver the festive spirit to those celebrating Christmas this year. MA Music (Songwriting and Performance) graduate Yvonne Lyon’s Christmas album, Songs For Christmas, is an outstanding and engaging collection to herald the festive season. Featuring five original Christmas songs and seven reworked traditional carols, her unique ability to constantly evolve as an artist is evident throughout as she embraces several different genres to weave an elegant and memorable sonic tapestry. Included in the collection is Yvonne’s critically acclaimed gem, ‘I Believe In Christmas’ in which she voices a quiet protest challenging our consumerism with humour and subtlety. A song with charm like no other, it drew con...

22Oct

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Alumni Stories, News

Toronto Alumni Event Success

University of the West of Scotland’s (UWS) long standing Canadian partner, Harris Institute, played host recently to an alumni event at its base in Toronto. Dr Eric Baumgartner, Dean of School of Education & Social Sciences at UWS and John Harris, President of Harris Institute, welcomed alumni, staff and current students to the event to enjoy an evening of reminiscing, sharing experiences and networking. In Canada as part of a UWS recruitment event, Dr Baumgartner said: “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting our graduates in Canada and was impressed by their career journeys so far and I can’t wait to see what they do next! “At UWS we do everything we can to ensure our graduates are work-ready and feel prepared to contribute both locally and globally, and this was evident in the graduat...

Honorary Graduates Celebrated at Summer Graduation

4Jul

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Honorary Graduates, News

Honorary Graduates Celebrated at Summer Graduation

Leading figures from the world of education, science, music and literature were celebrated at the University’s summer graduations in Paisley, by being awarded honorary doctorates. The Chair of the Robertson Trust Mark Batho, who was also previously a Vice-Principal at Abertay University, was celebrated as part of a ceremony taking place at Paisley Abbey on Tuesday 2 July. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucM3rb25S-w Mark Batho has been the Chair of The Robertson Trust since 2021, joining as a Trustee in 2017. The Trust is Scotland’s largest independent grant giver and, under its current strategy, disburses £25 million each year to help organisations in Scotland – mainly charities – in their work to address the causes and impact of poverty and trauma. As part of this work, it runs...

Commercial Music Graduate Finds His Place in Sport

20May

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Profiles

Commercial Music Graduate Finds His Place in Sport

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate Cameron MacAllister tells us how the flexibility of the course allowed him to harness his creativity beyond the realms of music. Cameron, who is Senior Communications and External Affairs Manager at Glasgow Warriors, graduated from the BA (Hons) Commercial Music degree at UWS with a first-class honours in July 2011. A keen rugby fan all his life, initially he never thought there would be a career path in sport for him. Remembering his time at UWS Ayr Campus Cameron said: “I played for the local rugby team Ayr Rugby Club, I looked for ways to connect music and sport together, and what I learned in the commercial music course was networking is absolutely key.” “That’s what I was doing in my fourth year… and one of the opportunitie...

27Mar

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Alumni Stories

Alumni Band Win BBC Music Award

A fast-rising band with two University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduates has won a prestigious national music award. Bottle Rockets – made up of BSc Music Technology graduates John Tamburrini and Andrew Cummings, alongside Kenzi Murray and Sam Rae, took home the BBC’s Scottish Act of the Year. The band used the state-of-the-art studio facilities at the UWS Paisley campus to record early material, and to give their musical aspirations a kick-start. John – who graduated in 2021 – said: “It’s fair to say that the band wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for UWS. We’re hugely grateful for the support we received early in our careers, and we were very fortunate to be able to use the industry standard recording facilities in Paisley. “Andrew and I also use what we learned on the B...