Watched by one half of Brit Award winning Basement Jaxx (Felix Buxton, LGS 1988), and hosted by music industry professional, Firas Waez (LGS 2001), two LGS Year 13 pupils proved themselves at the Music Technology Showcase held on Thursday 9 May.

The evening began with Hugo performing live electric guitar, mimicking the role of a session musician, whilst Ted monitored the extensive set up in the control room to ensure a professional-sounding recording.

The 16-channel mixing desk, extensive outboard equipment and Ableton Live DAW are tools found in professional studios. Ted was balancing the channels, applying EQ and compression whilst utilising the digital and tape effects processors for ambience.

After proving their worth in a live recording context, the pupils then shared music they had written and produced with the audience present. Felix Buxton, who has spent his entire professional life crafting electronic music, picking up Best British Dance Act at the Brits in 2004, and headlining the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 2005, was particularly interested in the unique sound worlds the pupils had created using synthesis.

Hugo, who is going on to study Music at university, said “the experience was really great.” He spent time breaking down music he had written, showing everyone how he had made and manipulated each track. “You don’t really get the opportunity that often to just sit and go through all the fun details and bits of a song that you spend so long fine-tuning.”

Ted said “it was a really good experience just sharing my music in that type of environment.” Ted shared music from his upcoming EP, set for release this autumn. Both pupils received invaluable feedback and advice from the distinguished guests, and were encouraged to continue creating music – no matter the category, style or genre.

Firas Waez, who has been mentoring the two pupils, said that they “are both incredible talents” and he hopes they will go far in the professional music industry in the future.

Hugo and Ted have taken full advantage of the musical expertise on offer at Loughborough Schools Music throughout their Loughborough Grammar School journey. Hugo has been working with professional level DAWs since Year 8, and has engineered a variety of projects since Sixth Form. Ted can often be found in one of the Department’s two studios splicing samples into captivating beat tracks. With mentorship from Firas Waez, Ted has been encouraged to curate collections of his music and package them into commercial releases. The first of these will be released this autumn.

Mr Abba, one of our Music Technology teachers said “Over the last 2 years the boys have developed massively as music composers and producers. It was a delight to hear the amazing work produced by them for their own projects, over and above the requirements of the Music Technology course. No wonder the industry professionals were so impressed!”

Music Technology is an increasingly popular A Level option at Loughborough Grammar School, with pupils utilising the expert teaching and professional standard facilities to further their passions for contemporary music, sound engineering and production skills. Recent alumni are now studying on the prestigious Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) course at the University of Surrey and the Creative Music Technology course at Bath Spa University.