Talent Development
At SMC we are committed to supporting Scotland’s next generation of musicians, composers and those who aim to work in supporting roles.
Our current suite of five talent development projects span the country- north, south east and west- and between them are targeted towards young people age 8-25. Since 2006 we have seen thousands of young people take part in our development activities and a wide variety of trusts and foundations investing in our work.
Scroll down for details of Music Plus, MusiCares, Hit The Road, Ignite 2 and Concept Sessions
Projects
CONTACT
MUSICPLUS is a FREE mentoring scheme run by the Scottish Music Centre and supported by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative, The Robertson Trust, and the Scottish Children’s Lottery.
The aim of the project is to offer you one to one experience with music industry professionals who will offer guidance, encouragement, skills and knowledge across a range of industry roles from performance to business.
MUSICARES is the first national music project for care experienced young people in Scotland.
We provide free music tuition, workshops, mentoring and advice for care experienced young people all across the country.
We can offer any type of music tuition, from DJ and sound production, to guitar, singing/songwriting, drums, keyboard, or anything else that you might want to learn.
FROM EARLY 2022
HIT THE ROAD takes musicians and songwriters aged 14-19 on their first professional tour. Invaluable experience of the live music industry is gained through playing real gigs in real venues to real audiences.
Artists are supported by our team of Scottish music industry professionals, all skilled and experienced in the live music industry: tour managers, artist managers and industry specialists and we also offer on the road training to young people interested in these type of ‘backstage’ roles.
COMING SOON
IGNITE is a unique project for Scotland’s new generation of songwriters and performers in rock, pop and indie and is designed to enable young artists to progress their music career.
Participating artists will benefit from specially curated live music industry showcases, performing in front of invited professionals from across the sector; Record Labels, Booking Agents, Music Journalists and Promoters. Musicians will also access expert artist development sessions, training and tailored guidance, covering everything from Royalties and Collection Societies to Publishing, Promotion and Touring.
Keith Beattie
Education Officer
MusicPlus/Musicares
Email
Sace Lockhart
Project Manager
MusicPlus/Musicares
Email
Robert Kerrigan
Project Assistant
MusicPlus/Musicares
Email
Michael Cassidy
Project Manager
Hit The Road
Email
Courtney Mackin
Project Assistant
MusicPlus
Email
Concept Sessions
Inspirational songwriting and composition sessions delivered by a diverse range of successful & established musicians involved across many musical genres.
These concept sessions are geared towards young composers / music students from Scottish high schools aiming to equip them with unique songwriting ideas, creative compositional skills and the exciting opportunity to be around professional musicians who can talk freely about their craft.
Funding
Geddes Peterson Foundation
The Geddes Peterson Foundation carries forward the legacy of the late John Maxwell Geddes, one of Scotland’s leading classical composers. When John sadly died in 2017, his lifelong colleague and friend Hal Peterson contacted SMC to offer a financial donation in John’s name resulting in Hal, SMC and the Geddes family forming the Geddes Peterson Foundation, with the objective of establishing an award in support of emerging composers in Scotland.
Stewart Cruickshank Bursary
Stewart Cruickshank was a huge force for good in Scottish music. Producing radio programmes for the BBC, he nurtured an enormous amount of talent, impacting the lives of countless musicians and listeners. To honour his legacy a new award was made to an emerging songwriter: in 2019 it was won by 23-year-old songwriter Jared Celosse.
