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Playing Live Music Is a Reality When You Come To Chichester

• Pop and Rock
• Jazz
• Music Technology
• Classical Music
• Staff Profiles
• Student Profiles
• Video Showcase of Music at Chichester College

Pop and Rock

A focus on performance is at the heart of all our popular music courses. Our experienced and professional team of lecturers will support you in instrumental workshops (guitar/ bass/ vocal/ drum) and with opportunities to play professional gigs, work in our recording studio and gain insights into the music industry.

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Jazz

A successful area, with a 25 year history of training jazz musicians.  Our students are thoroughly prepared through a series of performance workshops, improvisation and jazz theory classes for a career in performing or to go on to a specialist jazz course at university.

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Music Technology

Our courses enable students to specialise in Music Technology working with specialist equipment in our music technology suite and recording studio.  We also give students the necessary skills to set-up their own business or move on to university.

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Classical Music

Our Classical music students are offered specialist instrumental tuition as part of their course and opportunities to perform at weekly recitals and high profile community venues such as Chichester Cathedral. Many of our past students have gone on to top music conservatoires.

Listen to an extract of the Cathedral concert that the Chichester College Choral Choir staged recently...
Listen to an extract of the Cathedral concert that the Chichester College Choral Choir staged recently

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Staff Profiles

Our staff are highly experienced musicians and teachers. Find out about some of our staff in the profiles below:

	Dave Murrell is one of the top Jazz guitarists in the country and is extremely active in the surrounding Jazz scene. Dave is also recognised as a top session musician who has had success not only in the UK but around the globe, most notably in 1975-82 when he toured Canada and USA with various acts including Jim Carrey, Ronnie Hawkins, Ken Tobias and Tommy Hunter. Dave returned to the UK in 1984 and was commissioned to write film scores for BBC and Thames TV. He has taught jazz guitar at Chichester College since 1990 and gives regular live performances with his own trio/quintet at various European jazz festivals.
	Steve Cubitt is a versatile musician who has spent a considerable amount of time playing live music in venues all around the country.  More recently he has toured in Europe and the British Isles. Steve has been playing drums for over twenty years and has been in many bands covering many musical styles. Over the years Steve has supported bands such as Bush, Therapy, Hawkwind, Soul Fly Groundhogs and Sonic Youth. He also plays percussion, guitar and keyboards. Apart from having a degree in Music Production and studying jazz at Chichester College Steve produces his own music and experiments with music technology.
	Outside of his teaching commitments at Chichester College Rob Dwyer is still a very hard working musician whether playing live in bands or working in the studios recording. He has supported some big names over the years including James Brown, Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash, The Move & Miller Anderson of T-Rex. As well as playing live, Rob has also had experience of tour managing, some minor success with song writing and has also worked with developing bands and vocal groups. Most recently was recording Nik Kershaw (Wouldn't it be Good & The Riddle) live in 2009 on his comeback as a solo acoustic artist. Currently, Rob's major project is the Old Boys Network. He has recorded, mixed and mastered their first album 'On the and of One', played to sold out audiences and is now working on the second.
	Rod Coombes plays drums, percussion, guitar and is involved in programming. In his career Rod has worked with Rod Stewart, Lulu, Jeff Beck, Santana, John Entwistle, Ben E King, Juicy Lucy, the Strawbs, Stealers Wheel, Ming Hat (jazz), E.V.A. (Tranzz). Rob has also worked as a session drummer and clinician and spent some time in recording studios engineering producing and managing some well known London studios. In between teaching, Rod tours the USA Canada and Europe with Strawbs and is working on a new Strawbs album. As a songwriter he is also writing for a new Stealers Wheel album for release and tour in 2010.

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What Our Students Say

Dave Wallace
National Certificate in Music Technology
“When I came to Chichester college all I knew was that I wanted to work in music, I was clueless about how to go about it and what it entailed. Through the guidance and support of the lecturers on my course I learnt about music as a business and commerce as well as an art form.
Two year of hard work got me into Westminster University’s Commerce of Music course which I revelled in. Through hard work and perseverance I gained a lot of work experience and am now the youngest agent at Primary Talent International, one of the most important agencies in the world. One of my bands Glasvegas picked up an NME award.
I’d recommend Chichester to anyone trying to get into the music biz either as a performer or a professional.”

Jennie Witton
Professional Diploma in Music Performance
“I heard that Chichester College had a good reputation and the course is ideally tailored to what I wanted to do.
We are able to study a variety of music and have plenty of rehearsal time. The recording facilities are quite advanced and the technicians are really helpful. We’re also given the independence to organise our own concerts and performances.
My aspiration is to go on to the Royal Academy to study Opera.”

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