DMU Open Day

Saturday saw an early start for a new adventure. I had booked this weeks ago and become so excited about it that I didn't really realise how time consuming it would be until a couple of days before. I usually work Saturdays, but I managed to be allowed to work only half day once I got back. I went with Chantelle, a friend who is unsure about Uni and I was happy to learn that she enjoyed the day. Places like these establishments are eye opening.

The drive down was easy and we parked up just after 9am in the guest car park. Free parking - bonus points! I was anxious walking up to the check in of how the day would go, but it seemed by the end there really was no need to be. There was a welcome talk from the Vice President to start the day. The room he presented in filled up extremely fast that by the time we had reached the floor we were being directed into a different lecture theatre to watch his talk via a live stream; which was extremely impressive. Considering I was there to see the tech department, to see such a high standard of technology outside of that was comforting. No technical issues, no broken equipment in sight, just a slightly dodgy cameraman.


After the first talk had finished, we had about 15 minutes to get to the next welcome talk specifically for Technology in which their music department is based. In that space of time, I asked my friend to take some landmark photos of the day such as the one on the right, stood next to a very welcoming wall. The technology department is in the Queens Building and the lecture theatre we were in next was pretty breath taking. Decorated with wooden acoustic treatment and strange, yet not-enough-to-distract lights. As music is only a fraction of the department, it wasn't mentioned all that much. This didn't really dishearten me because the talk was still aimed at a diverse range of individuals.

It felt like there was so much to do. We had a small break in which I conversed with a few current students before heading to the next lecture room for a talk with Dr Bret Battey. He was very welcoming and enthusiastic and went into detail about what the course is about. It's sad to think that if I go I will miss out on certain things as I only wish to do my final year with them. After the talk, we all dispersed from the room which was fairly small yet full, to be toured around the department. We started with the studios in the Queens Building. The facilities absolutely blown me away. The quality of the studios, packed with up-to-date tech, various mixing consoles and preamps and live rooms which are able to be patched anywhere you need them. They even have a radio booth which they shown us and it is possible to patch the studios to the radio booth to broadcast a live session. Madness! These are facilities I can only dream of while I remain in Nottingham.

After all the fun of the tours, we had about an hour and half for lunch so it seemed right to explore the city. I'm unfamiliar with Leicester so we didn't get very far. We got as far as finding the closest McDonalds and dived in (we were getting really hungry, it was about 1pm by this point.) We still had one last tour to go back for to view the mastering studios and performance space, which was worth the wait. The journey home wasn't as fun. On the way back I had a small accident getting out of the city, but the car, myself and my friend still made it back in one piece, just very teary and shaken up. The thought of the costs and damage to my insurance premiums is still enough to set me off.

Otherwise, this was a fantastic day. I had so much fun and may have gotten a little to excited, but I need this right now. Something to be excited for. The feeling hovering around the department at college at the moment is dire, although seems to be settling.

Damn, I really want to go here.