’My favourite aspect of studying here has been the proximity to the professional world,’ says the double bassist
Four years ago I came all the way from Brazil to study here, and I really love it. I don’t bring my bass home – it’s a bit awkward to transport – so I usually go to college every morning and only come back in the evening. I’ll have rehearsals and lessons, but I also have my lunch there and relax for a bit in the common areas.
It’s been a very flexible course: double bassists can play any kind of music they want. My main teacher is Jiří Hudec, who is always very nice to us. I’ve also been taking more jazz lessons as well as my classical lessons, and playing more contemporary music too – I don’t think I’d ever played much of it before moving to Manchester, but because of the experiences I’ve had here, I’ve learnt to enjoy it!
In the final year they give us a lot of free time to work on our project. It’s a combination of written and practical, and you do it on something close to your heart, and which you think is going to be good for music. I’m doing a workshop and concert on Brazilian music. When you move far away, you try to find ways to shorten the distance, so that’s what I’ve been trying with this: I want to build a little community.
I don’t think I’ve ever met so many different nationalities at one time! The projects are always very mixed, which means you spend a lot of time with others, exchange a lot and learn a lot from their experiences in music. My favourite aspect of studying here has been the proximity to the professional world. I’ve been doing side-by-side projects since my first year, being put next to a professional musician, and you learn a lot just by seeing what they’re doing. Sometimes that’s more valuable than words.
Look after your mental health, keep your mind very positive about change, and if you come from a sunny country like I do, take loads of vitamin D!
Subscribers to The Strad receive the 2025 Degrees supplement free with their copy of the May 2025 issue
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