New London Adventure!

Hello! My name is Oscar, and I’m a jazz drummer who has recently moved from Melbourne to London to begin undergraduate jazz studies at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM).

I am very grateful for the generous support provided by the Tait Performing Arts Association and the John Truscott Foundation, who have helped contribute towards my university fees and are creating fantastic opportunities to connect with other Australians studying the arts in the UK.

I’ve been in London for four weeks and it has been an incredible experience. One massive highlight of being in this city is getting to see so many jazz greats up close as they tour through between Europe and the US. So far, I’ve managed to catch Peter Bernstein, Sullivan Fortner, Kush Abadey, and Steve Nelson, with upcoming tickets for Ari Hoenig, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Emmet Cohen, and Joe Farnsworth. Being right in the room to hear their acoustic sound and feel the energy that these musicians create has been deeply inspiring. That’s not even touching on the local London scene, which is equally fueling my creativity and broadening my perspective on music and life as a whole.

All of this has really pushed my practice sessions, motivating me to explore new concepts, ideas, and sounds on the drum kit.

Classes at RAM have been running for three weeks, and I’m having the best time. Our first-year jazz cohort is really close: there are only eight of us, so we spend a lot of time playing and hanging out together. A few highlights so far include:

• Freshers’ week: Loads of great events put on by the uni to meet people across year levels, including a boat party on the Thames, a pub crawl, and movie nights.

• My first lesson with James Maddren: He’s already such an amazing teacher, and I’ve really been looking forward to studying with him.

• Playing with new musicians: There’s been heaps of jamming and hangouts with people across different years outside of scheduled classes.

 

Another standout moment was attending the Tait event, “An Evening Among Friends”, held at the Australian High Commissioner’s Official Residence. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet supporters and artists connected to the Tait Performing Arts Association and the Tait Memorial Trust, including meeting Isla Baring. Hearing both Isla and the High Commissioner speak so passionately about supporting young Australian artists abroad was truly incredible.