Creating brighter futures

Alex Lipinski is a former Weston College student who has built a vast and impressive career from humble beginnings on the West Country club circuit, to huge audiences across the pond in New York. He recently paid us a visit to deliver a talk about his experiences in the music industry to our Music Performance and Production learners. Students also had the opportunity to interview the talented musician and watch him perform live. 

Alex grew up in a musical family being influenced by 60s Rock and Roll music such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Kinks. Alex had a love for writing music and began his journey performing his songs in clubs, bars and for family occasions. The interest in his music has grown greatly, particularly after his recent successful shows at The Borderline. His track ‘Lonesome Train’ was also recently selected by BBC 6 presenter, Tom Robison, as one of his tracks of the week. 

He advised to the students is to have their own identity as an artist, writing from the heart and not being too influenced by chart music. Alex expressed originality and creativity is key amongst such a competitive industry, stating:  

“The main thing is honesty when writing music...being honest with yourself and thinking what do you want to write about? Who are you as a person or as an artist? What do you want to say? Often people see what’s number 1 in the charts and think ‘ok I’m going to write a song like that because that will be successful.’ It doesn’t really work like that; you can tell that doesn’t mean anything. Having your own identity as a writer and an artist is more valuable than anything.” 

He also gave the students some tips on the best way to get their music out onto the scene and to not be disheartened or discouraged when they do not get the responses they expected right away. 

Overall, the learners thoroughly enjoyed his visit and hearing from someone who was exactly in their position before going on to achieve success in the industry. Thank you, Alex, for inspiring the next generation of artists! 

Find out more about our Music Performance and Production course here. 

I was already a massive fan of the work that Wild Welfare does years before I started working for them. I’d never come across another charity doing anything like what they were doing, and particularly in the way they were doing it. The problem of poor animal welfare within captive animal facilities such as zoos, aquariums and sanctuaries is widespread and incredibly challenging. Instead of condemnation, Wild Welfare collaborates, working together to drive forward welfare improvements for animals in facilities across the globe. Providing training to animal care staff ensures they have the tools they need to better understand animal welfare and positively impact it through their care practices. The training we provide has proven very effective at achieving this outcome over the 11 years we have been active and being a part of the journey has been phenomenal.

A typical day for me involves a lot of desk work which was a significant change from the years I spent working as a zookeeper, but the impact I know I can have, and the animal welfare issues I am hugely aware of are my driving force. Typical days in the field, however, look very different. We might have meetings with project partners in Vietnam, give presentations at a conference in Indonesia, or conduct welfare audits and make recommendations on where improvements might be made in a facility in Japan. Of course, taking a moment to say hello to the animals is an essential part of the process. The animals make everything worth it but, surprisingly for me, they didn’t turn out to be the best part of my role. Instead it’s the people, and the changes we create within them. Meeting people who are so passionate about the animals under their care, and giving them opportunities to learn more about how to improve animal welfare is intensely gratifying. You can make friends for life, despite the language barriers.

In this line of work it’s not all about the qualifications. Particular personality traits also hold significance. Patience and level-headedness are two critically important attributes because the changes we are creating take time and the sights we sometimes see aren’t pleasant. Reacting in anger or impatience is a sure-fire way to destroy a collaborative relationship which might have taken years to build.

I recently journeyed to Weston College to give a lecture to the students about the differences between animal care and animal welfare, something I had struggled to comprehend myself when I was a keeper. It was fantastic to connect with the students and I hope what we discussed will help with their animal management practices in the future. It was also very encouraging to witness the fundraising efforts which Weston College had initiated. We are a charity after all and cannot create positive changes for animals without financial support so we were hugely grateful to everyone who chooses to get involved with our work via donations to its continuation.

Sarah Bonser-Blake, Animal Welfare Field Manager, Wild Welfare

If you would like to follow Sarah's footsteps, and work with animals, you can discover our animal management courses, by clicking here. 

Weston College and University Centre Weston’s Music Department has recently received high praise from the Boneyard Blues Band for their support in laying down six live tracks and a video for marketing purposes. The band was impressed with the level of expertise and effort put in by the staff and degree students to achieve their goal. 

Recording a live performance while ensuring there was no sound bleed across various tracks is a challenging task, but the Music Department rose to the challenge with professionalism and enthusiasm. The band commented that the level of planning and execution was outstanding, and the raw mixes produced were of exceptional quality. 

The connection between the band and Weston College came through Grahame Driver, who has a long history with the College dating back to the mid-80s. Driver, who is the lead guitar player of the Band, has had a remarkable journey with Weston College, having started as an adult learner before being employed part-time to teach at the college and then achieving the position of Curriculum Manager. Driver returned to Weston College as Special IT Project Manager before retiring and then recording with the Boneyard Blues Band at the age of 71. 

As a gesture of thanks the Band is donating £100.00 to the Music Department as a show of appreciation for the exceptional support and expertise provided by the staff and students. 

Grahame Driver said, "The level of professionalism on the day was absolutely outstanding, and the enthusiasm of the degree-level students was totally inspiring. The team under teachers Oz Cahill and Aaron Sayers were not just happy to spread a few microphones around and press record. They totally planned the day and the requirements and even in the initial raw mixes produced a quality that none of us have experienced before." 

The Music Department at Weston College is proud to have contributed to the success of the Boneyard Blues Band's recording and looks forward to supporting other musicians and performers in achieving their goals, whilst they help students develop their industry experience as they begin or develop their careers in the music industry.