Stuart Bramwell scores dream job with LA composer
Stuart Bramwell scores dream job with LA composer
Published: 28/02/2017
Stuart Bramwell is having a ”˜pinch-me’ moment. The first year student has scored a dream job working for an award-winning composer and music producer.
After applying to an advert on a freelance jobs website, violinist and composer Stuart is now an assistant to LA-based Mark Portmann who is credited on over 300 major label albums, has nine Grammy nominations and has worked with industry legends such as Quincy Jones and Phil Ramone. Mark has also worked with Tom Cruise and other stars including Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Christina Aguilera, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Diana Ross and Josh Groban.
“I’d love to work in the film industry as a composer so it’s an amazing opportunity,” said the 18-year-old who joined the Bachelor of Music (Honours) programme in September last year.
“Mark advertised for an assistant on the job site, Upwork, where I get a lot of my composition work and for the interview I had to submit a few examples and do a test project.
“Mark sends samples for me to work on which form the basis of music for film trailers. Everything has to be industry standard so I’m learning a lot from the experience.”
Stuart has also just been hired through Upwork to compose select soundtracks for the feature length Bollywood thriller, The Ring Around the Rose.
“I’m composing and recording a main theme which is used in the opening and at various points throughout the film.”
Stuart’s father is a professional violinist who taught him to play as a child. He was 15 when he began studying music at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. At 17, he joined the first violin section of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
He moved from his home in Shropshire to take up a place at the Royal Conservatoire where he combines his love of the violin with writing his own compositions, which he shares on his YouTube channel.
“My BMuscourse is so flexible regarding what I want my final composition portfolio to look like, and I can overlap aspects of my violin performance module into this to help balance workloads.”
Listen to Stuart’s workon his YouTube channel.
