Institute Studios
Some people have music in their DNA, seemingly able to produce beautiful versions of it from thin air. Others simply love to feel, hear or make sonic vibrations by any means they can. Whatever the case, music has always been a universal language from which we can all share some level of understanding and appreciation.
Yet, perhaps because of the sheer number of professional musicians out there in the world, it’s understandable that many who do have a passion for making music, not least for singing, reserve doing so for when in the shower or alone in the car. It’s so easy to let self-doubt and presumptive embarrassment get in the way of attempting to sing or play even a single note in front of other people. But all that began to change in Margate back in 2017 with the introduction of the Social Singing Choir and Margate Vocal Studio and now a newly converted space on the High Street is set to offer even more of us a chance to get involved with music. Like the aforementioned organisations, Institute Studios is the brainchild of local professional musician Hughie Gavin, and he has some ambitious plans to get the town engaged with music.
The motivation behind the initial introduction of the choir goes a long way in explaining what the space is all about, and a huge part of that is connected to how music can make you feel, as Hughie explains, “Anyone can get so much joy from music – all of us. I come out of a choir session and feel so full of energy because you’ve accessed that bit of your body physically but also emotionally.” When he first decided to see if anyone was interested in joining a choir he expected 10-15 people to turn up for the first session but following a call out on Facebook, he welcomed 45 excited folks to come and hear more about his idea. The idea was fairly simple – get together as a group, learn how to sing and do some pop covers (and maybe have a drink or 2 together in the process.)
Roll forward to the present and the number of members has risen to 100, underlining the success of Hughie’s lessons and the many live public events that have occurred. The first of these was a fairly modest performance on the steps of Cliffs on Northdown Road for the charity Oasis, but since then the choir has assembled on stages at Dreamland, BBC Radio Kent and the Marlow Theatre. For Hughie, it’s that live element that has really caught people’s attention “The emotional response that an audience gets from choir singing – and singing done well but freely – is so much more than you’d get from professionals because it’s so genuine and real.” That said, in 2019 the choir found the professionals came calling and by the end of the year a backing track for indie band Swim Deep, the Very Christmas TV advert and even an EP of local record label Moshi Moshi covers had all taken place.
But then, much must be said for the man behind - or generally in front - of the choir. Hughie’s own musical talent and industry experience has given the choir an intrinsic awareness of what it is to make music, something Hughie himself learned whilst growing up. His dad, Julian Gavin, is a tenor and was the principal singer at the Sydney Opera House for over a decade and like Hughie, grew up in a musical household. As such, teaching his son and others how to teach came naturally, even whilst juggling an incredibly busy schedule. During this period the family split their time between Australia and South London and whilst in the UK, Hughie’s own musical career began to take form when he joined the The London Oratory Schola Cantorum. Whilst you may not know the name, you’ve almost certainly heard the songs in films including the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises, as well as Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow. As a choral scholar, and son to a tenor, he was taught the traditional bel canto technique; a method of singing freely and openly, usually used to sing opera. As he got older he pursued his passion for music further, learning instruments including, guitar and piano and then turned his attention to song writing. Having worked as a top liner, whose job it is to write the melody and lyrics for the likes of Ellie Goulding, Martin Garrix and Steve Wilson, he has since become a go-to for the film and TV industry. Recent projects have come via clients such as Audi and Gillette, for which he has overseen the composition, arrangement and production of songs for their adverts.
The success of the choir and his teaching at the Margate Vocal Studio, coupled with a desire to make music available to as many people as possible, has led to the expansion of his operations with Institute Studios. And, whilst the commercial projects challenge his own creativity and help to pay the bills, community collaboration is at the heart of his thinking, “I’ve always loved the idea of having a working studio, where I can work on my own projects but also be able to do community focused projects and bring the two things closer together.”
The building itself is a former shoe shop with 50m2 of space in which Hughie and local property development firm Castle & Key have worked tirelessly to convert into a 2-storey recording studio with professional edit suite. Having a bigger and properly kitted out space means that the professional and community elements no longer need to be mutually exclusive and the studio will play host to the choir, a children’s choir, Institute Collective; a small professional vocal assemble, as well as a offering a place for Hughie to create his own music and to continue his singing lessons. There is also space for photography shoots, which will be overseen by Hughie's wife, and photographer, Harri and the studio itself is available for those looking to record and edit music – something that Hughie hopes he can further develop with the introduction of an internship program that teaches skills in editing at an industry standard.
Whilst it’s certainly a step up, Hughie feels there is good reason to be fully confident in his newly expanded approach, “People can be elitist about music but the choir proves that you shouldn’t be, because every time we’ve had to do something we’ve risen to the occasion.”
This article was first published by The Margate Mercury.