14 April 2016
AKA Scholarship announcement
The SAE Institute and Bridges for Music announce its latest full scholarship in conjunction with another top South African artist – megastar AKA. 2016 Metro FM Best Collaboration and Best Hit single winner, AKA was a logical choice to lend his weight to the latest sound production scholarship, with his successful career inspiring thousands of young South Africans. The scholarship is targeted at young South Africans who, like AKA are committed and determined to achieve success. The SAE Institute in Cape Town is South Africa’s internationally accredited tertiary institution delivering creative media education in sound, film and animation. This latest scholarship is a collaboration between top South African artist AKA, non-profit Bridges for Music and SAE Institute and covers the full year tuition for SAE’s full-time Higher Certificate in Sound Production at the state-of-the-art campus in the heart of Cape Town at the renowned Woodstock Exchange The “AKA Scholarship, powered by Bridges for Music and SAE” creates a brighter future for the successful candidate through the removal of the financial hindrances merged with mentoring sessions, internship opportunities, career guidance and life skills development. AKA has established himself as one of South Africa’s top talents as a multi- award winning musician and producer who understands the importance of creating opportunities such as this scholarship. As he explains further, “It’s a great honour for me to be able to offer a young aspiring musician/producer/engineer an opportunity to equip themselves with the skills needed to begin a career in the industry. I myself studied to be a sound engineer and I still use the same skills I acquired all those years back, in the day to day happenings of my own career. Thank you SAE and Bridges for Music for partnering with me on this awesome initiative. Good luck to the recipient of this scholarship, and see you at the top.” This scholarship is the latest collaboration between Bridges for Music and SAE, and adds to their already robust scholarship program with top artists Ready D, Black Coffee and Young Guru (Jay Z’s engineer and tour DJ) who also presents similar annual scholarships for the Higher Certificate in Sound Engineering. SAE Director, Trenton Birch explains the rationale behind these life-changing scholarships; "We are very excited to partner with AKA and Bridges for Music for this scholarship. AKA is a very talented committed artist who has also studied sound engineering, he has an amazing work ethic and is the perfect person to have as a scholarship patron. Teaming up to provide opportunities for young disadvantaged creatives is incredibly powerful and we are inspired to be able to offer a platform that can truly change lives.” The Higher Certificate in Sound Production provides students with the practical skills necessary to work in the entertainment and music industries. Students learn the technical and creative aspects of the recording process by working on complex projects in various professional studio environments. The course covers all aspects of sound production, studio recording and live sound reinforcement techniques, mixing, mastering, MIDI and modern music creation, music business, studio acoustics and the application of current technology to the music production process. Students also gain expertise in music and business management, marketing, communications, and knowledge of the contemporary ‘infotainment' industry. Every year SAE offers these scholarships to those with Grade 12 certificates and the scholarship covers all fees but not living or travel expenses. The scholarship is for the July 2016 intake and this year there are four scholarships available, all of the details for the scholarships are available on the SAE website, www.capetown.sae.edu. The deadline for applications is April 30th 2016.
11 April 2016
Internship position
Executive Assistant / NPO Administrator
 
Are you willing to join a dynamic team passionate to make a difference? Would you like to learn more about the music and NPO industry while growing your network  ? Ready to live inspiring moments and grow professional and personally?
Yes all this sounds fancy, but are you also ready work hard, take leadership in certain projects and become a driving force for the organization?
 
Bridges for Music is an NPO organization using the power of music to create positive change in the world. We work with festivals, artists and other brands in the music space to generate funding and develop educational projects that spark social change in underprivileged communities.
 
Typical work activities
  • Managing/co-ordinating diaries of directors when needed. 
  • Support administration of marketing and public relations to raise the profile of the organisation's services and campaign.
  • Assist in the creation of fundraising materials such as leaflets and flyers, branding for our events, and marketing collateral such as events newsletters.
  • Assist in the creation and organisation of fundraising initiatives and events; we are open to new fundraising ideas!
  • Supporting/assisting DM and Fundraising person in research of potential donors – both corporate and individual, approaching donors and maintaining donor lists
  • Assist with preparation of powerpoint presentations, market researchs or budgets in excel.
  •  Supporting and coordinating our CRM (Customer/Donor relationship management) with periodic newsletters, etc.
  • Administrative tasks such as assisting with the application for grants and other sources of funding, managing budgets, gathering data, preparing reports, database management and clerical work to meet the charity's needs.
  • Helping with the digital marketing. Scheduling social media posts, creating new content and spreading it through the web.
  • Assist during fundraising events and shows.
To be considered for this role you must be passionate for music and social work. Good team ethic, communication and organisational skills are essential.  Some marketing experience and a good knowledge of social media are an advantage.
Please apply with a Word Document copy of your CV and a covering letter to connect@bridgesformusic.org 
10 March 2016
Workshops with Skrillex and Riky Rick in South Africa
On Thursday 25th February and Saturday 27th February we hosted two more workshops in South Africa to facilitate knowledge transfer and inspire positive change through music and education.
 
On his second visit to South Africa, this time to play the Ultra Music Festival, recent Grammy award winner Skrillex headlined the workshops and took time to meet and engage with local artists in underprivileged communities. The event was proudly presented by G-Star RAW as part of their project to support upcoming talent and promote educational initiatives in the creative space. 
 
The first workshop took place in Kliptown, Soweto, South Africa’s biggest township in Johannesburg. It was hosted at the Soweto Kliptown Youth Centre (Sky) which serves as a safe haven, housing 40 kids and feeding over 200 children a day from the community.
This space has been run for 30 years by Bob Nameng who maintains the belief that ‘music is here to destroy boundaries’.
 
Skrillex was joined on the couch by South African Hip Hop star Riky Rick for an engaging interview that explored each artists’ journey as well as offering advice on how to operate in the creative industry and what it takes to achieve one’s dreams through self belief, hard work and determination. 
 
The proceedings were kicked off by Euphonik (one of South Africa’s biggest club / radio DJ’s) and DJ Lag (the king of a new style of South African house music called Gqom) and ended with an impromptu DJ set from Skrillex plus an explosive performance from rapper, Riky Rick. A highlight of the workshop was an on-the-spot decision by Ultra to invite all workshop attendees to the festival which received a large cheer as Skrillex announced the news.
 
Our second workshop took place in Cape Town at the T'soga Centre in the Langa Township.
This location has just been taken over by Bridges for Music to build our Music and Entrepreneurial school, a project that we are currently funding through various campaigns globally.
 
The Cape Town workshop featured Cape Town’s biggest hip hop act Driemanskap, prolific D ‘n B DJ/Producer/Promoter Niskerone and local Langa Music Producer DJ Fosta who is also part of the Bridges for Music board. 
 
DJ Fosta met Skrillex during the Dubstep superstar’s first visit to South Africa and ended up playing back-to- back with him at Glastonbury festival a year later.
 
The workshop ended with Skrillex, DJ Fosta and Siphe Fassie - an 18-year-old artist from Langa who has been working with BFM since he was 14, sharing the decks for a fun-filled performance. That evening Siphe was invited to join Skrillex on stage at the Ultra Music Festival, a moment he will never forget. 
 
“Working with Ultra this year and running these workshops has been a defining moment in the evolution of our organization. It is so inspiring to see how Skrillex engages with everyone he meets and takes a genuine interest in their stories and our country.  He has been so supportive of what we are trying to achieve and it was an emotional moment when we showed him the school premises he has helped fund” says Bridges for Music  African Director Trenton Birch.
 
Skrillex has been a Bridges for Music ambassador for several years and has played a vital role in helping to generate funds to build our first Music and Entrepreneurial School.
 
Photo: Beliah Oh
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