MOLLY GRIBBON
Music | Bmus (Flute)
How did you find out about Transitions?
From my flute teacher in S1
When did you get involved with Transitions?
In 2016
What was the most useful thing you learned about your artform and yourself?
That I deserve to be where I am. I have always struggled with feelings of self-doubt over my ability, but the Transitions team and my mentor, in particular, were incredibly supportive in helping me to overcome this. As well as this, my time at RCS Juniors unlocked my passion for both orchestral and chamber music, and the opportunities provided to me allowed me to work with some of the best musicians in the country, and the world. My time at RCS Juniors ultimately influenced my decision that music was going to be what I did with my life, and without Transitions, this may never have been possible.
Why should someone think about joining Transitions?
Joining Transitions is an incredible way of breaking down barriers within the arts and gives you amazing opportunities to expand your horizons and follow your artistic ambitions! You are provided with a huge support team and are given mentors within your art form who are able to guide and help you with anything you need- related to your artform or not. Your health and wellbeing are always the number one priority and the whole team are committed to ensuring you become the best artist and person you can be. The ultimate aim of the programme is to help you transition into your desired path of higher education- and the help offered to me over the years was vital in me securing my unconditional place to study at the RCS this year.
What is one piece of advice would you give to any current student on Transitions?
Take every opportunity offered to you as they are invaluable in your artistic growth. Really utilise your mentor- they are incredible people with so much knowledge of the industry and the help my mentors have given me over the years has been truly amazing. I even plan on keeping in touch with my mentor now as an undergraduate student! Any worries I had being a school student who was living away from home to attend music school and juggling exams were made so much easier to handle with the advice given to me, and I was able to overcome a lot of the feelings of self-doubt that I was struggling with, where I felt that I did not “belong” in my own artform. My mentor reminded me that everything I had achieved was deserved as I had put in the hard work, and this spurred me on to push myself even further in my music-making. I’ll be forever grateful to my mentor for all of her help!
If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently within your time with Transitions?
I think if I was given the chance all over again, I would try to take part in more activities outwith my own artform. There are so many opportunities available to collaborate with people from other artforms and I would have liked to take part in some more of them during my time as a Transitions student. Unfortunately for me, I had a lot of time constraints, as I was only at home for one day a week. If I had the chance again, I would definitely immerse myself much more fully in the collaborative side of the Transitions programme.
If you’d like to find out more about how to apply for Transitions, visit our pages on ‘How to Apply’ here.
