Southern Cross University's internationally-renowned contemporary music degree is expanding – and that's sweet music for students.
From 2020, the Bachelor Of Contemporary Music will be offered on the Gold Coast. Operating from the Coomera Creative Campus in the city's north, the music degree will work in harmony with the programme out of Southern Cross University's Lismore campus.
Coordinator Dr Matt Hill is excited by the potential of the degree's new Coomera home, which will feature some of the best performance/production equipment and facilities in Queensland.
“The Gold Coast has a vibrant contemporary music scene and it will be great to be able to offer the programme to aspiring musicians in the area," he says.
Vice Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker agrees. "This is a wonderful expansion of the University's course offering on the Gold Coast and in Queensland,” he says. “Our campus next to Gold Coast Airport is one of the fastest-growing in Queensland and now with a northern Gold Coast offering, Southern Cross University is moving to ensure that growth continues."
The Bachelor Of Contemporary Music has produced many national and international music successes.
WHARVES
Among them, Nashville-based country music hitmaker Phil Barton recently signed an international co-publishing deal with Grammy Award-winning Liz Rose. Rose has written for the likes of Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Australia's own Kylie Minogue.
Fellow graduate Scott Aplin is now in his ninth year as musical director on 'The Voice', while indie rockers WHARVES are fresh from a European tour supporting DZ Deathrays.
WHARVES singer Matt Collins says, “It’s part of the WHARVES story that we met through studying music at Southern Cross. The access to world-class lecturers and facilities really helped kickstart us as a band."
It's all inspirational stuff for up-and-coming performers like Sophie Ozard, who is about to begin the third year of her Southern Cross music degree and is already attracting industry attention with her genre-spanning music.
"It’s been great to play with lots of other students who all have different musical skills and styles," Sophie says.
"Learning how to make and read charts is invaluable for playing in a band. This has been one of the best things I’ve learnt through the course, along with experience playing in an ensemble and learning about the technical side of my instrument."
The Bachelor Of Contemporary Music begins its Gold Coast offering in 2020.
