Laura Neville from Co. Kilkenny chose South East Technological University’s (SETU) BA (Hons) in Music after she was won over by the campus’ “positive atmosphere” during a tour of the University. Now in her third year, she says the music programme’s culture of experimentation and collaboration has encouraged her to learn “more about every facet of music.”
A positive atmosphere
I chose to study at SETU’s campus in Waterford because of its vibrant atmosphere. While studying for my Leaving Cert, I visited the University to check out the campus. I felt overwhelmed by most universities, but SETU was a completely different story — it just felt right! The campus’ friendly, positive atmosphere was certainly part of why I felt this way. Ohh, and College Street Campus being so close to the city centre was a major draw.
Favourite module
My favourite module is Composition. This module is compulsory for the first three years and optional for a major or minor in fourth year. I enjoy learning the rules of harmony and then getting to bend or break them! It is also great to learn about different compositional techniques, like minimalism, serialism and quartal. Composing in these styles put me a little out of my comfort zone but has greatly broadened my horizons.
Collaboration
The course certainly focuses a lot on collaboration. For example, we have a weekly ensemble in which all first to third years, and some fourth years, meet to learn songs collaboratively ahead of performing them at the end of the semester. The groups include choir, classical guitar, jazz and Irish traditional. It’s a great way of getting to know everyone across all years in the course. This culture of collaboration doesn’t stop with the students, our lecturers are always there to dig in and help if there’s ever anything you need assistance with.
"I felt overwhelmed by most universities, but Waterford was a completely different story — it just felt right! The campus’ friendly, positive atmosphere was certainly part of why I felt this way."
SETU BA (Hons) in Music student Laura Neville
Collaboration in practice
A great example of collaboration in practice was the BA (Hons) in Music partnership with SETU’s Sustainability in the Arts Festival where groups were tasked with creating an environmentally friendly immersive experience. As a team, we all took on distinct roles. We performed this immersive experience in Waterford, SETU's Arts Campus in Wexford, and at SARC (Sonic Arts Research Centre) in Queen's University Belfast for their Sustainability Festival called Reach '24. What we created as a group was better than we could have ever imagined and is a testament to the focus SETU places on working together. I also met so many people in the music industry with interesting stories, research ideas, and cultural backgrounds.
SETU's Irish Traditional Music Orchestra
SETU’s Irish Traditional Music Orchestra was also set up this year. This orchestra includes undergraduate students, alumni, staff members, and young people from across Waterford and neighbouring counties. The orchestra has been great for me. As a trad player, we often play just the melody or the chords so it’s easy to get up to speed with the song at hand. I had been involved with traditional orchestras before (Music Generation Carlow) and missed playing these arrangements. We have already learned so much, even though the orchestra was established as recently as October 2023
