2024 leaver Indrajit Datta has been awarded a £30,000 scholarship to support him during his degree in Music and sound recording.
Until this summer, Indrajit was frequently on hand to help with sound and lighting at QE, increasingly taking responsibility for concerts and other events.
After securing his first-choice place at the University of Surrey’s 54-year-old Tonmeister course, he has now won the Air Diversity Scholarship for Tonmeisters, which gives him £10,000 for each year of the course.
Director of Music Ruth Partington: “It was lovely to hear from Indrajit and I am so pleased that he has secured this scholarship. During his senior years as a pupil here, he was a mainstay of our concert support and was much valued within the Music department!
“Commendably, he also took pains to ensure that he passed on what he had learned at the sound desk to a new generation of pupils.”
The scholarship is open to those from underrepresented ethnic groups, with a financially disadvantaged background. It is open only to students from the UK on the Tonmeister course, which was established in 1970. The course combines rigorous musical study, advanced investigation of audio engineering and mastery of sound-recording operation and practice. It boasts several Grammy, Emmy, Oscar and Mercury Music award-winners amongst its alumni.
The award is sponsored by AIR studios in Hampstead, established by Beatles producer Sir George Martin.
In his application, Indrajit had to explain how the scholarship would make a difference to him at university and how it would help him achieve his career aspirations.
Indrajit developed his twin interest in Music and sound recording while a QE pupil. A pianist himself, he was involved in raising money for new pianos for the Friends’ Recital Hall and Music Rooms, gaining his first experience of live-streaming concerts during the pandemic with the Pianoathon – part of virtual Founder’s Day in 2021.
His A-level Music composition, Sonata for Live Piano and Electronics, broke new ground at QE with its blend of digital technology and live performance.
Highlights in his final year at QE included his role in recording QE’s 450th anniversary anthem – And Be it Known, the anniversary anthem commissioned by the School from international composer Howard Goodall – in The Friends’ Recital Hall. “I was given complete autonomy with thousands of pounds of equipment and was really able to test myself,” he said.
This spring, his electronic arrangement of Britney Spears’ Toxic, combined with the appearance of some glow sticks, provided a rave-like neon spectacle at the Leavers’ Concert.
“My role at School has been fundamental in gaining knowledge and experience. I’ve been able to push the boundaries and use new techniques,” he said in the summer. “I go into my degree feeling very confident and a step ahead.”
After benefitting from Indrajit’s knowledge and experience, a new group of sound specialists has now emerged, led by Year 11’s Ben Newton, Abhinav Sandeep and Chinmaya Dave.