Students from Uxbridge College performed at one of the biggest education events in the UK earlier this month.
An audience of thousands
The young musicians were thrilled with the opportunity to perform at the Festival of Education, held at Wellington College in Berkshire on July 2 and 3. The festival brought together over 6,000 guests and featured more than 500 speakers.
CloudBack, a four-piece band consisting of Oliver Clanford, Flare Lloyd, Michael Stewart and Jason Davies, performed along with soloists Joel Hunting and Avery Feest.
Filled with joy
Jason said: “Performing at this festival was a fantastic experience for all of us, as it gave us the chance to present our love for live music. My main highlight from this festival was seeing the people actively enjoy our music, as during songs we would see passers-by film us while singing along and dancing; seeing that filled me up with joy.”
Lots of fun
Avery said: “I had a lot of fun performing at the festival. I would say that my highlight was being able to play some of my favourite songs for my friends and the people who attended the festival.”
Amazing opportunity
Flare said: “Performing at the Festival of Education was such an amazing opportunity for me personally. The festival is the largest audience I've ever had the privilege of performing in front of.”
Valuable experience
The HRUC students were accompanied during their trip by Ray Griffin, Music Lecturer and Section Manager in Performing Arts, and Simon Maddison, Music, Performance and Production Lecturer.
Simon said: "As a music educator, it is always a pleasure supporting our music students getting that valuable first-hand performance experience. You can only learn so much in the classroom and rehearsal room, so this opportunity proved incredibly developmental for the students involved. Huge thanks to the organisers for booking us for this festival.”