Photography Students Show Off their Talent at Holy Trinity Church

Strode College students who have been attending evening classes for aspiring photographers will be displaying their work to the public at Holy Trinity Church in Street from 18 - 25 March.

The eight-week course, designed for anyone wishing to improve their digital photography skills,  was originally intended for around a dozen students. It proved so popular that a second session was added, and a total of 36 students signed up.
This is the first event to be hosted by Holy Trinity, who are inviting other organisations to get in touch if they may need a space for an exhibition, a concert or other similar use.  Church Warden Susie Williams said: "We want to open our doors and welcome in the community. The church has not been open until now but will be every lunchtime, and for a token charge, local groups are welcome to hire it at other times."
Strode College are planning to run a series of one-day photography courses throughout the year. Provisional titles include:

• Introduction to Digital Photography
• Introduction to Photoshop
• Improving Your Holiday Snaps; Photo Restoration
• Photographing Documents and other techniques for Family Historians

Historic and wildlife instructed photography tours are other possibilities - and there may be a chance to become a 'press photographer' for a day!
The eight-week evening courses will be running again from October and January 2012

Go ‘Back to the 80s’ with Strode Students

Students from across Strode College are pulling on their leg-warmers and dusting off their Rubik Cubes in preparation for their annual musical production.  'Back to the Eighties' runs from 8 to 11 March at Strode Theatre in Street, and features the talents of over 40 students.

This sparkling new musical tells the story of Corey Palmer and his friends as they complete their graduating year at William Ocean High School.  Corey is in love with Tiffany, but Tiffany loves Michael, the coolest guy in the school.  As the school year progresses with student elections, the arrival of new girl Eileen and a charity concert, the show follows the teenage trials and tribulations of the school seniors.  After successfully organising the concert and the ensuing party, Corey's popularity is growing.  Michael and his friends take their teasing of Eileen a little too far and face the wrath of school geek Fergal McFerrin III, a secret student of the martial arts!  Michael gets his just desserts, Tiffany sees the light and Corey gets his girl.

The show features a score of retro-classics accompanied by an eight-piece live band, including 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,' 'Man in the Mirror' and 'We Are the World'.

Charmaine Bray, Performing Arts Lecturer at Strode said: "Every year students and staff pull out all the stops to make the musical production one of our highlights.  There will be so much talent on show - singing, acting, dance and music - and lot of hard work and dedication behind the scenes.  We're really looking forward to showing what we can do and I'm hoping for a great audience turnout to support our young performers."
Tickets can be booked at the Strode Theatre box office: 01458 442846 or at: http://www.strodetheatre.co.uk/.  Ticket cost £8, £6 full concession and £5 for Strode students

Strode Music Students Perform Unplugged for Eavis

Music lovers braved the ice in late December to attend an eclectic and diverse evening of unplugged performances from Strode BTEC Music students at Pilton Working Men's Club.  The students provided over two hours of largely original material, and were delighted to see local music legend Michael Eavis popping in to enjoy the music and say hello.

Jorden Lindsay, who lives in Yeovil, performed a brilliant solo set of self-written pieces for vocals and acoustic guitar, as well as fronting the popular local act 'JackFlash' who performed an unusual acoustic set to the enthusiastic audience.

 "It was great to get the opportunity to play my own songs and to know that a legend like Michael Eavis was listening.  There's a great atmosphere at the club and it was great to be able to play there' said Jorden.

The gig was organised and promoted by the Strode students as part of a course project.  In particular Sid Taylor who lives in Pilton, who closed the evening with the cool sounds of his jazz combo 'Taylor Made'.  "'The course at Strode gives us a real feeling of what it's like to begin working in the music industry.  For this project we have to decide where to play, develop and promote our acts, book the venues and do all the health and safety and stuff" said Sid.

The students will be playing several more concerts around the area to complete their project.  As well as Jordan, Jack Flash and Taylor Made, acts to look out for who also performed were: Hollie Trevis and Ollie Proud, 'Reinstate Sarah', Zach Urch, Chelsea Paget and Chris Cox with Jake Stone and Jake Rayment.

Strode Students in Channel 4’s Skins

Strode Performing Arts and Media students recently took part in filming for the new series of Channel 4's Skins, a teenage drama which follows a group of Bristol sixth form students. Thirty five students travelled to Filton College in North Bristol for a full day of filming.  They will be on screen as extras in the new series which begins this month on E4.

Georgie Underwood, who lives in Bleadney near Wells, is studying Dance, Drama, Media and Film A levels at Strode College.  She said: "We had a great day being part of 'Skins' and we learnt that as well as acting, filming involves a lot of standing around, retakes from different angles, and attention to detail and continuity.  For the first few shots we were a little nervous, but things calmed down and we started to enjoy it.  The production team were really friendly and professional. "

"Our first scene took us four hours to do, and it will only take up about four minutes in the episode.  In the scene the main characters return to college, with some of us 'dressing' the set and others walking through the scene.  Later in the day we were in a scene where students arrive for a new school day.  Kerri Bruce (of Yeovil) and Hannah McCarthy (of Shepton Mallet) got a small part in this scene as 'fit girl 1 and 2'.  They had to walk past a car and laugh at one of the main characters as he got out of it. "

John Oram, Strode College's Drama Lecturer said "Our BTEC Broadcast Media students and Performing Arts students really enjoyed this experience.  They worked alongside professional actors and technical crew and it was a fantastic opportunity for them to find out about the hard work that goes into making TV Dramas.  They also learnt the discipline of performing to camera and the balance between long periods of waiting around and then intense moments of activity.  We are hoping to work with the production company again at a later date."

Christmas Treats from Strode Musicians

The audience at Strode Theatre enjoyed a musical treat last week, with some stunning performances from a range of Strode College's musical ensembles. The festive mood was set with a knitwear winter dress-code and some carols and Christmas songs sung beautifully, in close harmony, by Strode College A level Music students and the College choir.  This was followed by a relaxed and skilfully improvised number from the highly accomplished College jazz group.

The show also featured groups formed by talented students studying for the National Diploma in Music, who performed original songs and seasonal material with real flair and confidence.  Performing Arts students gave the audience a taste of delights to come from their forthcoming 80s musical, and the event was rounded off with vocal soloists coming together with the College ensemble and choir, to create an impressive grand finale.
Jamie Phippen, Strode College Music Lecturer said: "Our Christmas Concert is a great opportunity to see the rich and varied musical talent we have at College.  There was a real buzz about the event for the whole evening and the students left the stage with the highly appreciative audience calling for more."

Strode Students Raise the BPM

Music Technology students from Strode College travelled to Birmingham recently to visit the BPM DJ and Music Technology show; Europe's biggest event dedicated to DJing, electronic music production and club culture.

Students found plenty to do at the show.  There was an eclectic line-up of DJ sets and performances from big names and new talent, with every style of music covered.  There were educational seminars and workshops, discussion panels with music industry professionals, and an engaging mix of exhibits and demonstrations where students could try out new equipment.

They particularly enjoyed the Learning Zone which was run by the School of Audio Engineering, where they tried out software and synthesizers, including the  'Kaoss Pads' that allow easy and fun music production (see photo).  They also enjoyed talking to professionals about working in the music industry.

Adrian Smith, Strode's Music Technology Lecturer said: "The show places great emphasis on fresh ideas and innovative performance techniques, which is a real motivation for our students.  It was great for our students to see the very latest music technology and software and I'm sure the experience will inspire them to produce an excellent music technology performance project at Strode Theatre next year."

Strode Drama Students Team Up with Celebrities to Boost Teen Body Confidence

Strode College Performing Arts students joined a celebrity-packed cast on a West End stage recently to help boost body confidence amongst teenagers and young adults, and warn of the dangers of excessive dieting, fad diets and eating disorders.
The 'Body Gossip' performance was organised by the National Osteoporosis Society.  Poems, readings and monologues about body image were performed to an audience of schools and colleges.

Strode students performed readings from the 'Body Gossip' website expressing young people's views on the body image pressures they face.

Celebrities who also took to the stage for this World Osteoporosis Day performance included Craig Revel Horwood (Strictly Come Dancing) who read about his own experience with eating disorders, and Nikki Grahame (Big Brother) who talked about her struggle with anorexia and osteoporosis.
For photos of the event, please visit http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/

Photo: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall with Strode Performing Arts students (left to right) Chloe Murray (Bruton), Daisy Nicholson-Lailey (Street), Daisy Rendell and Yasmin Jones (Glastonbury), Rob Cook (Wells), Jazz Bell (Ashcott), Lee Rahn (Street) and Zoe Hodges (Yeovil).