Welcome to the BA (Hons) Commercial Music Digital Showcase. The creative outputs presented below are derived predominantly from 3rd Year and 4th Year Honours projects, which have been selected to celebrate student success and creativity in the academic year 2024-25.
UWS Commercial Music Showreel // Class of 24-25
Below you can view some of the amazing work from our 3rd and 4th year students this year.
4th Year: Creative Research Project
Creative Research Project is a 60-credit module delivered across Trimesters 1 and 2 of 4th year/Honours year of BA (Hons) Commercial Music. The Creative Research Project provides students with the opportunity to develop a significant creative research practice output.
Projects fall into a range of disciplines including; performance, production, cultural entrepreneurship & participatory arts
Creative Research Project is also intended to contribute to students general portfolio of work, encourage them to operate out with the cultural “mainstream” and to impress upon future employers the value of artistic creativity as one of the most important key skills.
Here are some highlights of student work in from 2024-25
Charlotte Campbell - Swiftly Scottish: Translating Fandom- Taylor Swift’s Global Influence and Local Fan Practices in Scotland.
Sophie Docherty - Battle: Creative exploration of the normalisation of substance abuse within musicians.
Aaron MacDonald- The Art of Creativity: An EP Exploring the Links Between Artistic Media
Nicole Kilpatrick - Studying Songwriting in a variety of different enviromental contexts
Sean Hamilton (Seanico) - Soul Sister: From Dark Fantasy - An EP Exploring the Revenge Fantasy Genre as a response to trauma
Emily Irving - The importance of female role models in the music industries: An exploration of performing lived experience to inspire and create diversity.
Paul Leslie - All on Me: Forecasting which ways the trend of individualisation impacts the composition, format and production of modern music.
Adam Roche- Stories of a Lost Time EP: An exploration of the Post-Industrial Scottish Music Scene through the lens of a struggling artist
Jack Cybulski - Music For Gaming: This project is a showcase of work created for an in-development video-game
Amy McManus - Recess : From songwriter to producer – an exploration into gender representation, artistic identity and active learning environments in a studio space.
Ryan Brown - Inside the Voice Documentary: A personal exploration of my struggles with vocal tension
Emma Smith - Till the Weather Changes:
Exploring personal emotions and perspectives on each season of the year through music.
Vinny Barton - Unity is Something we Should Try: A documentary exploring the Ayrshire DIY scene
Ellen Hanlan - Going Green on the Scene: A Documentary Focusing on Environmental Damage and Carbon Neutral Futures.
Ellysse McLelland - Chrysalis: Genre-hopping to explore notions of authenticity
Katie Wills
The WIllow Sessions
The Willow Sessions consisted of four workshops, based both indoor and outdoor. Each workshop encompassed several creative elements including; mediation/walking meditation, songwriting exercises, improvisational/loop pedal/soundscapes and foley recording. The aim of the project was to create a space for participants to explore their own practice in the context of finding the interrelation between music, improvisation, songwriting and nature.
Susan Traynor
Explore the Accordion.
Susans community work consisted of an 'explore the accordion' day, where participants could learn more around the instrument, inside and out and also have a go at playing as well! Lessions included; Introduction to the accordion - a brief explanation of the accordion and it’s layout. The history of the accordion - evolution of the accordion, linked ‘free reed’ instruments and examples of these.
Kirsty Quin
Safer Sounds
A collaborative Songwriting Workshop promoting safety and inclusion in the Scottish music industry. This songwriting workshop is built on the belief that creativity flourishes when people feel truly safe — emotionally, mentally, and artistically. We are here not just to write songs, but to build a community rooted in care, respect, and the freedom to express our most authentic selves.
Commercial Music 3rd Year: Advanced Music Production
With a focus on hybrid learning and the music industries becoming more digitised, AMP encourages students to develop their entrepreneurial skills by designing and implementing a successful music industry project. This module is a development of the creative skills and techniques required for a holistic / corporate approach to music product design and implementation, with an emphasis on the manifestation of a product and appropriate promotion to suit an opportunity students have identified in the marketplace.
Dylan Rae - Ambimatter 'White Box' : Single and Video Release Campaign
Click on student work to follow thorugh to their websites
Dylan Rae
Ambimatter - Single and Video Release Campaign
.png)
Melissa Sparks - Unwritten Stars
Songwriter Talent show with cash and headline show prize
Allyssa Mungall - Starduster Promotions
shoegaze / dreampop / noise rock / post rock / adjacent gig promoter
based in scotland 🏴
Shay McDermott - The Runts EP and Launch Event
Shay wrote and released an EP Ode to a Broken Soul before organising and performing at a sold out, 130 capacity event with his band The Rants
Sinead Donnelly - February Femininomenon
Blackbird Promotions Presents...A series of nights full of female presenting and non-binary fronted acts! This is to help raise funds for ‘Scottish Women’s Rights Centre’.
Molly Robinson - Girl Power in Scottish Music Blog
We are an exciting blog that is dedicated to promoting local female musicians in Scotland. Our goal is to showcase the amazing talent of women in the industry and provide a platform for them to be heard. .