BIMM Dublin expand

BIMM Dublin celebrated the acquisition of its new premises yesterday with a live student performance and media launch party. Tutor Cathy Davey was on hand as the students, who are studying for a BA (Hons) in Commercial Modern Music, treated media and special guests to a barnstorming performance of 'Lonely Boy' (The Black Keys) and 'Hold On' (Alabama Shakes) in the creaky old gymnasium at their new address on The Coombe, which was previously home to convent run St. Brigid's Primary School.

Due to overwhelming demand for its courses, BIMM have acquired a second premises, which are located just around the corner from its headquarters on Francis St., Dublin 8. Having first opened in September 2011, and despite this being only their second academic year, the college has already reached capacity with over 300 students currently learning their craft at BIMM's state of the art facility.

Building work on the new building, which will include a new live room, performance studios, and five new specially designed teaching spaces, will commence in March, with the college hoping to have up to 600 students on board for the new academic year beginning in September, 2013.

Speaking to Hot Press at the launch yesterday, College Manager Dara Kilkenny, who has been at the helm of BIMM Dublin since day one, couldn't hide her excitement for the new project. "It's been amazing. We received a huge amount of applications last year, and it's looking like we're going to have at least the same amount again this year. But we don't have any space left across the road anymore, it's completely full. So we've got this new building nearby, which is fantastic."

Keeping everything close by, in and around the Francis St./Liberties area is something that Dara sees as vitally important for the college going forward.

"I love this area, I think it's really great. It's vibrant and edgy, and it's really near all the venues. There's a lot happening, with new venues and studios popping up all the time. We encourage the students to live near the college because we want them to be forming bands, we want them to be playing gigs every night of the week. They have maybe 14 hours of tuition a week, but that's only the start of what they should be doing."

All BIMM Dublin tutors are experienced music industry professionals who are committed to helping students succeed, and include singer/songwriter Cathy Davey, bass player Paul Moore, guitarist Cormac Breslin, drum and live performance tutor Graham Hopkins, and vocal coach Tine Verbeke who has worked with the likes of Bono, Glen Hansard, and Danny O'Donoghue from The Script.

Dara really underlines the importance of these industry links in the development of the students and of the college.

"Island Records came over recently and we put on a show for their A&R department. From that, they took one of our songwriting students over to do a showcase for them in the UK, and it went really well. We want to be, and we are, a port of call for the industry if they want to find musicians, or if they are looking for new talent."

Alan Cullivan, who manages ASIWYFA, is head of music business at the college. Alan's department includes Mick Roe (Richter Collective), Jim Lawless (Coronas Manager) and Anne-Marie Shields (who manages Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine fame).

He tells us, "We put a lot of emphasis on giving the students as much knowledge as we can about the workings of the music industry, and try to develop a spirit of entrepreneurship" Alan views this input as essential to the students development, and regularly invites musicians from all genres to give guest lectures at the college.

"We've had Danny from The Coronas in. We've had Frank from Anthrax in, and also Chad from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. To get these type of people in to give their experience and impart some knowledge on the students is fantastic."

On the songwriting front, Cathy Davey has been involved with BIMM since the very beginning. Cathy teaches on a part-time basis at the college, and is still growing into a role that finds her getting more and more involved as things go on.

"I do love it. Because everyone kind of finds their own way of teaching. When you start, you have no idea how to teach," she admits. "You're kind of following the curriculum as best you can and it seems to swallow you're personality at first. But then as you get more used to it, you can bring in your own kind of ideas as to what makes you tick."

Cathy's love for the craft of songwriting sees her focusing on developing her students writing techniques, "which is not teaching people how to write," she points out. "I focus on teaching different techniques, and get the students to practice these, so that things come naturally and allow them to access their own personality, and to portray it in an un-clichéd way. It's all broken up into just looking at different forms of melody and harmonising, and stuff like that."

For further information on BIMM Dublin and its courses, or to order a copy of BIMM Dublin's prospectus, log onto [link]www.bimm.co.uk/dublin[/link]. The college will also host an open day at its headquarters at 62 - 64 Francis St., Dublin 8 on Saturday, January 26 from 9am - 5pm. Applications for the BIMM Dublin BA (Hons) in Commercial Modern Music validated by Dublin Institute of Technology must be made through the CAO before Friday, February 1. Successful candidates must also complete a musical audition at the college.