New status cymbals as Bradford College receives upgraded drum kit

Musicians will be playing to a brilliant new beat as @BradfordCollege has taken delivery of a new professional drum kit made possible with a £1,500 grant.

Universal Music UK Sound Foundation has provided the funding for new musical instruments for young people studying on the college’s music courses.

John Dey, Lecturer in Music and Audio Technology, said: “This new kit will have a big impact for our course work as well as our performances.”

The new Tama Superstar kit, with Zildjian cymbals, will be used throughout the year by Bradford School of Art music students for performance, recording and song writing. John said: “Performance is an important part of everything they do and was something we really needed. As well as helping with the delivery of our courses, it will enable us to extend our drum tuition.

“It’s often difficult for students to have a drum kit in their own home due to the noise, so it’s really good for them to have access to professional level kit at college where they can practise and improve their drumming.

“We hope it will improve take-up of music courses and allow us to extend our work with local schools.”

The addition of the new kit means both the new and older drum set owned by the college can be used for ensemble performances.

Abigail Swift has been playing drums for nine years, since she began studying at Yorkshire Music School in Saltaire. She is now studying Level 3 Music, Performance and Production. As part of her course Abigail creates her own songs using music software. She chose to study at Bradford School of Art due to the smaller class sizes and the friendly, welcoming environment in which students can flourish.

She said: “This new drum kit is amazing. I’m quite jealous as I want one like this at home!”

Music teacher Tom Higham, who teaches at Bradford School of Art as well as Yorkshire Music School, said; “We’ve all been enjoying playing it. This will help our students to perform in a wide range of musical styles and will support them with their performances as well as their personal goals.”

Study Music, Performance and Production at Bradford College

Our Music, Performance and Production courses help you to develop your talent, skills and theory at Bradford College.

We design our courses to prepare you for a career in the music industry – whether you want to perform, write music, or produce it.

You’ll work on projects with students from other courses.

You’ll get the chance to perform in venues around the city.