Shining outside the spotlights

“I enjoy serving the artist from behind the scenes. That means guiding them musically, leading the band, and working on the organisational part,” we hear Bart Geleijnse say in the video below. Bart has completed the bachelor’s course Academy of Pop Music at the ArtEZ Academy of Music in Enschede as a keyboardist. In the video, we see him rehearse with his band and talk about his experiences during the course as well as about his finals project. “I’m using Chris’s EP release as my graduation project. I’m organising it together with him. This means I’m not only busy with making music, but also with organisational tasks. And there’s a lot you need to cover.”

Bart’s finals work is an hour-and-a-half-long release show. He has written a string arrangement for this show, and together with Chris, he thought about how to implement these arrangements.

Collaboration above competition

Bart says that collaboration is considered more important than competition in the course. And we see the perfect example of that in the collaboration between him and Chris. Because of the lockdown, Bart had to give up live shows and look at other options. That’s when he decided to collaborate with Chris to put together an online release. He got a lot more involved with the organisational tasks. And he enjoyed that. This is why his advice to new students is: “Try to network as much as possible. You’ll not only get to know a lot of the students, but networking also gives you the opportunity to try out new things. Think of management, education, production... You’ll discover what you truly enjoy.”

Bart wants to find his place even more in this field. He hopes to be on stage with Chris and other bands he’s been collaborating with, or be hired by more bands. “It’d be cool if at some point in X number of years, someone in the audience is inspired by my work. It’s always nice when people look up to you. But I’m also very down-to-earth when it comes to that. At the end of the day, I do what I enjoy and what I hope I’m good at.”

Be fully prepared for a career in pop music

With the ArtEZ Academy of Pop bachelor's course, you graduate with the right skills, expertise, experience, and network for a successful career in pop music. The focus is on instrument skills, management, and education. This course is taught both physically and digitally because online education prepares you for future collaborations with international professionals. You also get to work together with MediaMusic Bachelor students; this opportunity provides you with even more knowledge, extra facilities, and a larger network. Your graduation project is also your introduction to pop music. It can be a performance, an album, a label, or your own business. You can enter the music field as a musician with your own label or in a booking office.