An award-winning music producer is working with Sidmouth College to give local primary school pupils the chance to learn about music technology and production.

Steve Watts runs BigDStudios, based in Sidford, which has won eight international film festival awards for sound design and was rated ‘best bespoke music studio Devon’ in the Southern Enterprise Awards 2023. In the past he produced three seasons of comedy jingles for BBC Radio Two's Steve Wright in the Afternoon, and more recently he's written and recorded music for Disney, Marvel and Madame Tussauds.

Sidmouth Herald: Music producer Steve Watts in his studio in Sidford

But Steve’s latest project is a much more grass-roots level activity, in which he passes on his own skills to a new generation of potential music producers, using the facilities at Sidmouth College.

Steve said: “I am providing private tuition to students in the college’s very own studio, and running the group which offers free places to local primary school children to come and learn about music technology, production and composing. It’s wonderful to be able to pass knowledge on and help the children to become more discerning about some of the advice they might come across on the internet – much of which is inaccurate, and some of which is downright wrong!”

The college’s head of music Richard Morgan said: “The music technology lessons are part of a bigger project launched in conjunction with Devon Music hub called the East Devon Music Centre, where we fund a year of tuition on music technology, strings and woodwind with an opportunity to buy into further subsidised tuition for those  who wish to continue.  This, plus the excellent work that the Sidmouth Town Band do with young brass players, means that there are low risk, easy access routes for getting into all sorts of music making!”

Sidmouth Herald: Children learning the violin at Sidmouth College

 The violin group for children aged six to 11 has been running since November and is led by Clare Marchant. She said: “Each week we have a one-hour lesson and all the children have made brilliant progress. I have been so delighted with their enthusiasm and commitment. They are learning simple tunes, technique and how to read music. It is such an opportunity for them to experience playing an instrument, and they are gaining so much from it. We are looking to forward to performing at the Sidmouth College Music Concert in July!”

Steve Watts said: “I spend most of my days beavering away in my own studio but it’s an absolute joy teaching at the college. The first sessions of my music tech group have been a great success. I am very keen that the children taking part express their creativity through music and so they are currently learning to put their own songs together. It is a fantastic energy in the room and I am very much looking forward to doing more, and excited to be involved in the concert again this year.”

There are still a few free places available in the group; enquiries can be made using the contact page of the Sidmouth College website www.sidmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk. Alternatively, for information about one-to-one tuition at the college, contact Steve directly at bigdstudios.co.uk.