Point Blank Scholarship Awarded To New Songwriting Talent

As part of our on going inititive to give young and talented musicians the chance to develop their talents and gain entry into an industry that is notoriously difficult to break, Point Blank offers a range of scholarship programmes to help those students whose talents could otherwise go un-nutured and unnoticed.

Our newest student to deservedly be offered one of these scholarship opportunities is Denise McKenzie. A singer and songwriter from the age of 16, she has been writing and recording her songs for the past 6 years and has decided to take an important first step to developing her passion into something that she can grow a career out of.

Speaking about her reasons for decided to take her songwriting to the next level, Denise said:

"After a tough start to the year, I decided that instead of being negative, it was a chance to rebuild, finally do something that I’m passionate about and good at! When I write it feels natural, right and has become everything to me...My dream would be to turn songwriting into a job which I could earn a living from and if I dream bigger (which I often do!) then to write songs for major artists such as Robyn, Rihanna, Jessie J, Beyonce etc. I am keen to learn to write songs of different genres as I currently mainly write r'n'b/pop songs. I do love all types of music, I feel this course would expand my horizons and I have the drive and passion to make the most of it...I am dedicated and determined to finally prove to myself I can fulfill my dreams."

From everyone here at Point Blank, we wish Denise the best of luck with her course and hope she goes on to great things in the future!

To find out if you are elligible for one of our scholarships, please click here and find out more. When applying you must tell us:

- Why you would like to study at Point Blank

- Any relevant musical experience you may have

- Where you want to go with your music career

- Why it should be you who receives the award

- About your background, where you are from etc

Former Tutor Hits The Studio With Ronnie Wood

Former Senior College Studio Assistant Ed de Lacy left the homely bussom of Point Blank almost a year ago now, and has gone on to be involved in a great deal of exciting projects in only a short space of time.

He is currently working for digital media production company Somethin' Else Sound Directions Ltd. and has gone from starting as a Junior Sound Engineer to become a fully-fledged Engineer in an ever-expanding Post Production department.

Ed and his colleagues oversee the studio facilities as well as all sorts of output in it's final stages across digital, radio and TV. Big clients include Channel 4, Nissan and Orange.

Sound design, sound recordist work and all other areas within post production; like dubbing mixing and video editing have given Ed an extensive portfolio already.

On the audio side of things Somethin' Else produces radio shows for every BBC station (the Rock Show, Jazz on 3, the Essential Mix, 6Mix, Crissy Criss - the list goes on), commercial shows like the recently double Sony award nominated Ronnie Wood Show on Absolute Classic Rock, as well as countless other external clients from all sectors of the industry.

Ed said that "having gained a superb foundation of knowledge and experience from colleagues and students alike at Point Blank, I could really build on my prior academic experience and become more than just a Sound Engineer - working across a vast variety of projects - from Gardener's Question Time to Giles Peterson - there is definitely never a dull day!"