A Bachelor of Music at Excelsia College has the power to set you up on a variety of different pathways. Just look at Esther Moran. The 25-year-old is a vocalist and synth player in indie band Casual Fan and just under a month ago she performed on the main stage of the music festival Lost Paradise! This same main stage featured acts including Arctic Monkeys, Lil Nas X and Jamie XX.
Playing at Lost Paradise was a big step up for Casual Fan, who were used to the typical pubs and clubs circuit. ‘Playing at Lost Paradise was an awesome experience. Getting to hear your music through the highest quality speakers and gear was definitely a highlight. Knowing all the biggest acts were all on the same stage as you was a big step up from the usual venues we play as a band’, explains Esther.
For Esther, being a performer came naturally, but it was the skills she learned outside of her vocal major that she found particularly helpful. ‘Doing a placement as a worship leader at the end of my degree taught me useful skills like the recording process, knowing how to set up my stage if the sound guy is late, to using my scales I learned in my very first keyboard class.’ Studying music at Excelsia also helped Esther to feel confident in the music industry. ‘I know that I can walk into a wide variety of settings and trust in my own ability to hold my own,’ she says.
Throughout her studies, Esther not only grew as a musician but also as a woman of faith as she discovered what she wanted to do with music. ‘I look back very fondly on my time at Excelsia College. I went into my degree not knowing what I wanted out of it, never having had a singing lesson or written a line of music in my life. I walked away as not only an extremely better singer but also a well-rounded musician with a variety of skillsets I wouldn’t have imagined before.’
Esther’s long term dream is to see her music reach a wider audience and have the opportunity to pursue music full time. ‘When I was just about to start my degree, I had planned to go into teaching, which I will always have the option to return to. For now though I am going to put all my energy and effort into performing and recording with Casual Fan.’
For any other budding musicians looking to break it in the industry, Esther’s main advice is to never lose your passion and love for music. ‘It’s extremely hard work to push your own music and it takes up a lot of time. As soon as the passion and the love goes it can be hard to remember why you’re doing it in the first place. Music is a gift and if what you create impacts one person, I think that’s pretty awesome.’
Casual Fan have just released their single ‘French New Wave’ from their upcoming EP. To have a listen, head to their Spotify account and follow their updates on their Instagram page casualfanmusic. If you’re interested in becoming a musician or honing your musical gifts, why not explore our Bachelor of Music? You never know the places you could go!
