JAMES MCINTYRE
Music | Mmus Vocal Studies
How did you find out about Transitions?
I first found out about Transitions through my music teacher at school who was the one who suggested I apply for the Junior Conservatoire.
When did you get involved with Transitions?
When I was 15, Transitions helped me go to the Junior Conservatoire of Music where I had singing lessons and classes in performance, sight-singing, musicianship and choirs.
What was the most useful thing you learned about your artform and yourself?
It’s ok to make mistakes. In fact some of your greatest breakthroughs can came come from this. If you keep staying in your comfort zone, how are you meant to improve or take your art to the next level? Someone very special in my journey told me that perfection doesn’t exist in life, so how can it exist in art? I’m a complete perfectionist by nature, but this realisation has opened so many doors for me in discovering what is possible. Even technically, you can only really figure out your current limits through pushing them and trying something which might be a bit daunting to you. It’s through this that I learned to not take myself quite so seriously and allow myself to roll with the punches a bit more. After all, the beauty of a career in the arts is the unpredictability of it all and I would urge other artists to embrace this as well.
Why should someone think about joining Transitions?
Transitions can offer so much that you might not have thought you needed. It can provide an incredible opportunity to develop further in your field and open the door to a professional career that may be otherwise unattainable or especially difficult to pursue. The most unique thing about Transitions is that the experience is completely tailored to you and what you need to take the next step in your training. It also puts you in a circle with other like-minded creatives where you can create both friendships and working relationships that can last your whole career. On top of this, a core part of the Transitions experience is definitely the guidance you receive to help you through every stage of your journey. For me, this was regular check-in meetings with a mentor and even advice from a current student when I was preparing to start my undergraduate degree.
What is one piece of advice would you give to any current student on Transitions?
Take every opportunity that offers itself to you. The right things always come at the right time and every chance to put yourself out there is a chance to learn new skills and meet new people that could help you later down the road. Set yourself achievable goals for both the near future and long-term so that you’re always working for something beyond a competition, exam or project deadline. Always remember to regularly remind yourself of why you love what you do, whether it’s watching someone who inspires you or practicing a piece of music by your favourite composer, the raw power of that kind of burst of inspiration is absolutely unrivaled.
If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently within your time with Transitions?
I would first of all start my studies with more confidence in myself. Like many others, I spent so much of my energy with self-doubt while discovering who I was as a musician and an artist when in hindsight I could have made so much more progress sooner if my focus was instead fully on myself. I was constantly scared that I wasn’t a good enough musician which hindered my progress in this front until I learned to trust in myself. I would also definitely be more open to taking every opportunity I was able to and would have tried to watch more performances. Through Transitions, I watched my first opera, which led me down my current career path, but there’s so much to learn from every art form that you can apply in some way to your own. Watching is the best way to not only inspire yourself but to learn and collect ideas and reference points which you can pull out of the bag later to impress people, including yourself.
If you’d like to find out more about how to apply for Transitions, visit our pages on ‘How to Apply’ here.
