From Melbourne to Mannheim: Music Performance students at Popakademie

Walking into a room full of strangers in a foreign country and writing a song with them by the end of the day is the kind of challenge that would make most musicians nervous. For two Australian College of the Arts Bachelor of Music Performance students, it became one of the most memorable weeks of their creative lives when they travelled to Germany for Popakademie Baden-Württemberg’s International Songwriting Week.

Alice Isabella and Lucy Tuck represented Collarts at Popakademie Baden-Württemberg (University of Popular Music and Music Business) in Mannheim, where they spent four intensive days in bands with musicians they had never met. Together they built songs from nothing, recorded them in the studio and took them all the way to a live stage.

They came home with full hearts, a notebook full of messages and more than a few tears. It’s proof that a music performance course in Australia can take you a long way from home.

Setting goals before take off

Before boarding the plane, both students set themselves goals for the week, and neither was focused on the music alone. For Alice, the trip was a chance to connect with people on a deeper level.

Her main goal was to “just meet people and connect on a personal, emotional and musical level.”

Writing great songs and being “really happy and present and content” were on the list too. Looking back on the week, she’s clear: “I definitely achieved all that.”

Lucy’s goal was more personal, and it meant stepping into the unknown with an open mind. “I literally just wanted to feel more confident,” she says. That also meant working with new musicians and “letting myself be comfortable outside of my comfort zone, if that’s possible.” By the end of the week, she felt she’d done exactly that.

Collaborating across languages and cultures

Sharing a rehearsal room with musicians from the other side of the world meant learning to communicate in new ways, both through music and through conversation. Lucy’s band was a true mix of backgrounds, and for her, “it was really cool to incorporate different styles and perspectives.”

Alice was the only Australian in a band of German musicians, and the experience pushed her further than she expected. One song had her singing in German, French and English on a single chorus, a challenge she took on alongside everything else that came with being the newcomer in the room.

She loved being “immersed in that culture,” picking up “how different people converse” and noticing “how different our cities can be.” For all that distance, she found they’re “also quite similar in a way.”

This is the kind of real-world collaboration a music performance degree at Collarts prepares you for: reading a room, adapting fast and making music with people whose first language might not be yours.

The performances that gave them chills

Everything the students had worked towards came together on the final night, when every band took the stage to perform their new songs live. For Alice, leading her band through ‘Invisible’ was a moment she won’t forget.

“I just felt very emotional being on stage,” she says, admitting she “got a bit teary singing the song that we wrote and were so proud of.” The song closed on vocals alone, “a three part harmony, and that was very magnetic.” 

For Lucy, one of the most special moments was seeing a song she had heard in its earliest form grow into something bigger than either of them imagined. Alice had shown her before taking it to the band. “I feel like they were really able to follow [her] vision, but there were ideas that I didn’t think would be brought in that really added to it.”

Then came the final act, a producer and songwriter group fronted by heavy metal vocalist Chris, who left the whole room stunned. “We did not know you could make those sounds from your mouth,” Alice says. “Everyone was gasping.”

What they learnt about themselves as performers

The biggest lessons from the week weren’t technical. Both students came home with a quieter kind of confidence and a new trust in themselves and the people they create with.

Alice learnt to be “more open to bringing ideas to the table and just seeing things happen.” The pressure of the deadline faded, “because I knew we’d get it done,” and she felt “very comfortable and very supported by everyone at the camp.”

For Lucy, the lesson was about “letting go and letting the idea speak for itself instead of worrying so much about what’s going to happen.” She left more at ease with the creative process and, in her words, “being more present.”

The songs aren’t staying in Germany either. Each band recorded their work live in the studio during a one-hour session, and both students hope to release those recordings or keep collaborating with their bandmates from across the world.

Advice for future applicants

Whenever Alice travels, she carries a notebook for the people she meets to fill with advice, lessons and drawings. By the end of the week at Popakademie, it held messages in Italian, Estonian, German and English. It’s a small keepsake of the friendships they formed in just four days.

One entry from a fellow participant captured the spirit of the week in four simple words: “Don’t be afraid to discover.”

Before they had even left Australia, Lucy wrote her own message in the book while waiting at the airport, and it turned out to be the perfect advice for what was ahead.

“Don’t let fear dictate the outcome. Stay present, get excited, and believe in what you are. All your dreams are possible.” – Lucy

Alice’s advice to her past self is all about soaking up every moment. “Really be present and take everything in,” she says, “because it went by really quickly and the next thing we knew we were saying bye and crying.”

Study a music performance course in Australia with global opportunities

At Collarts, music performance students build their craft in Australia and can apply for international experiences like the Popakademie International Songwriting Week. They graduate with real stage experience, an industry network that reaches beyond our shores, and the confidence to walk into any room and create something special.

If you want a music performance course that takes your songs further than the practice room, your next step starts with us. Explore the Bachelor of Music Performance and the Collarts Student Exchange program here.