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What’s On… Becoming a Level 4 student @ UD  

Here are 8 things you need to know if you’re thinking about studying for a Level 4 course with UD x UEL in east London…  

Being a student at UD

Welcome to our home, a state-of-the-art £4.1 million building called The Talent House, at 3 Sugar House Lane in Stratford – and you’re all invited. 

UD and East London Dance have come together, under one roof. We present to you Talent House, a pioneering music and dance hub, designed by award-winning architect Katy Marks. Boasting professional facilities, including digital broadcast capability throughout, it will lift the aspirations of all who use the House. 

With five commercially specified music recording studios, a live room, two vocal booths, a large flexible rehearsal space, a Mac and tech lab (with 20 workstations for music education), two dance studios, a flexible space for seminars, a shared area for members (including a canteen and hot-desking space), Talent House is THE cultural hub for emerging talent. To top it all off, the central atrium is our main reception, which has a capacity for an audience of 200, and can be used for informal gigs and dance jams. 

UD x UEL: The benefits  

If you choose to study for a Level 4 Course with UD x UEL, while you’ll be based at our HQ, Talent House, you’ll also get the best of both worlds, with access to UEL’s campus, clubs & societies, student hubs, a student bar and a lively programme of on and off-campus entertainment. Read more about student life HERE.
 
If you’re studying with UD, you’ll also benefit from bespoke access to our Talent House co-working space and members hub, aimed at supporting the artist or entrepreneur in you

On top of timetabled activities, students will benefit from…
→ Hot desk co-working space  
→ Complimentary studio time
→ Tickets to UD Industry Takeover seminars and Showcase events

→ Access to the tech lab facilities for course work

State-of-the-art studios  

At the heart of the Talent House is a 6-room record production and teaching facility, featuring studio-wide Dante Audio Over I/P Connectivity via Focusrite’s Rednet, for management of inter-studio audio playback, headphone mixes and recording management.  
 
Focusrite’s Rednet system is featured in Studios 1, 2 and 3 plus the live room, with expandability into the other two production rooms and teaching spaces for facility-wide content production. 
 
Our computers are equipped with the latest in audio software, with the Mac suite equipped with everything you need to edit a video, create special FX, mix a record or pursue other creative endeavours.

Talent House really is the place to realise your talents, whatever they might be. 

At UD, we understand that young people need the resources and space to create and explore their potential. The Talent House provides just that while we continue to empower those, trying to make it in the music industry, to realise they already belong. Equipping those who are breaking through into notoriously competitive creative environments with the tools they need: Excellence, structure, confidence, opportunity and networks. 

Career Opportunities  

UD has a long working history with the music industry and we’re proud to be able to make connections when opportunities present themselves. Members of our community have gone on to secure employment with organisations including Universal, SBTV, Apple Music, BBC Introducing, SoundCloud and many more. There’s even a Grammy nominee or two in our midst! With Flames, one of UD’s flagship programmes, having performed with Raye, Kojey Radical and Jake Bugg in 2023, opportunities at UD come in many forms and we look forward to sharing our contact book with you.  

Industry Partners  

UD are teaming up with industry partners – to be announced soon – to further boost our Level 4 offering.

UD Ambassador, RAY BLK

Community

All are welcome at UD.

UD has been nurturing community for over 20 years. Whether through our membership programme, Open Mic nights, Incubator, Flames, Industry Takeover or co-working lab, we promote a safe-space for creatives who are all about Black music and Black music culture. Talent House is fully accessible. We work to ensure that other underrepresented and marginalised young artists also feel safe and heard, for example those who are neurodiverse, or have a disability or are from the LGBTQIA+ community.  Fighting against social and racial injustice are core values. 

Open Mic at UD.

Green spaces  

As highlighted by UEL in their blog on ‘reasons to live and learn in east London’, there’s also plenty of opportunity to grab a breath of fresh air if nature is your thing. “Large city farms, Victorian Cemeteries or woodlands and wetlands – there’s something for everyone in the East End. Take a cycle in the Olympic Park, buy some fresh eggs from Mudchute Farm or go bird spotting (or wild swimming) at the Walthamstow Wetlands. Spot bluebells in Epping Forest or enjoy some quiet time with a book in Tower Hamlets Cemetery. Stroll along the canal from the Olympic Park to Victoria Park or go canoeing in Hackney Wick.”

Stratford  

UD have always been based in Stratford, east London. Many years ago (way before our time), when Stratford was still a rural area, it was all about livestock, bread making and potato production. Following years of urban decline and becoming one of the most deprived areas in the UK, regeneration began ahead of the 2012 Olympics. Stratford is now the 2nd most connected part of London after Kings Cross. With further development underway, a culture boost is on the horizon to add to what the Talent House already offers, with East Bank – University College London (UCL), the BBC, Sadler’s Wells East, the V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum) and the London College of Fashion – set to arrive in 2024.  

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 22: Crowds gather in east London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to watch ‘Dystopia to Utopia: Reimagining our Future’ – a live pop-up performance commissioned by East Bank partners the BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL East, Sadler’s Wells East, and V&A East. Choreographed by Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe and East London Dance, in collaboration with UD Music, the performance marks the finale of East Bank’s 2022 Creative Programme and looks ahead to the opening of East Bank, London’s new cultural quarter in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on September 22, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Antony Jones/Getty Images for V&A)

Still got questions? Want to book a tour?
Email level4@udmusic.org, download the prospectus or apply via UCAS.

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