Media Lecturer judges UK finals of EMERGENZA

29/06/2010

Media Lecturer Don Allen has been asked back to judge the national finals.

Don Allen, Media Lecturer at the College's Crawley campus, has been selected to be one of the judges at the UK national final of the EMERGENZA Rock Band Contest. EMERGENZA is a European and North American music competition and festival for up-and-coming bands which was first held in Rome in 1994, expanded throughout Europe during the 1990s, and has included US-based bands since 2004. Artists compete for votes in a series of live concerts in a 'Battle of the Bands' format, with those that secure the most votes advancing to further rounds which are then judged by a panel of music industry experts. Bands taking part pay an entry fee, but get free equipment and are supplied with tickets to sell to their fans, so can dramatically increase their fan base throughout the event.

Don, who's music industry experience was gained with music E-Zine Electric Grapevine, where he is Image Editor as well as a Photographer and Writer, was a judge at the Southern Region Final in Brighton alongside Elisa Marzocchi, Ireland and Netherland Area Manager for EMERGENZA; Jonny Goodwillie, Promoter and owner of The Hook Up Consultancy, as well as music manager and past record label director; and Ollie Catchpole, programmer and talent booker for the Komedia in Brighton as well as a promoter in London. After the audience selected their top 5 acts, the panel named MAREBITO as the winners. They will now go on to represent the South East at the national finals in July, and there are high hopes that they could go all the way to the International Final in Germany this August, due to the level of technical skill and charisma they demonstrated on the night.

Don has been invited back as a judge on the panel for the UK final, and feels that the students he teaches in his role at the College directly benefit from the valuable insight he, and fellow teaching staff, can give as a result of direct industry experience. He says "One of the big advantages for Media students at College is that the Tutors and Lecturers have hands-on current industry experience. Employers want practical skills not just theoretical, and this is seen in the backgrounds of the other Lecturers in the Department." For example, second year National Diploma in Media, Film and TV students at the College are currently working on producing original music videos for real unsigned bands, and they are lucky enough to be able to draw from a wealth of music industry experience from the whole team based at Crawley.