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Personal Profile For Mr Andrew West
Course Director, MA Songwriting. School of Music and Performing Arts.
Personal Statement:
My current research interests lie within the development of the teaching and learning of songwriting in Higher Education. I have been teaching Songwriting at Bath Spa University since 2004 and I designed and introduced the World's first Master's Degree in Songwriting in 2007.
In 2009 I was made a Teaching Fellow of the University.
Professional Qualifications:
MA Professional Learning (Bath Spa University).
Membership of Professional Bodies/Subject Associations:
Performing Right Society (since 1992)
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (since 2001).
Teaching Specialism:
Songwriting.
Key Publications/Exhibitions/Performances:
My songwriting career began in 1990 when I joined Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers) and Roger Cook (Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart, Talking in Your Sleep, etc) in Cornwell, Cook and West. After recording live sessions for Radio One and GLR and performing at Ronnie Scotts, the Bloomsbury Theatre, Jazz Cafe and the London Paladium, we made an album 'CCW' which was released in 1992. Over the following years I wrote songs for Carlin Music, and a number of these were used on shows including 'Oprah' and 'Friends'.
In 1997 I moved to Nashville and signed to Warner-Chappell as a staff songwriter. While resident in America I had the great pleasure of collaborating with Kim Richey, Leslie Satcher, Robert Ellis-Orrall, Bill DeMain, Jennifer Kimball and a number of other fine songwriters. In 2001 I set up my own publishing company, Mersey Beaucoup, and in 2003 the Nashville-based label Infinity Cat Records released 'Sundays and Birthdays', a compilation of my songs recorded in Nashville between 1998 and 2002 with Joey Spampinato (NRBQ), Clive Gregson, Garry Tallent (E-Street Band), Ian Wallace (Bob Dylan) and Kenny Vaughn (Lucinda Williams). In 2003 I produced Julie Lee's 'Stillhouse Road', a CD released by Houston-based Compadre Records and featuring Grammy award winners Alison Krauss and Vince Gill.
My songs have been used in films made in Australia, France, Canada, Greece, Poland, New Zealand, Holland, Mexico, Sweden and Spain and have been featured on BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, ITV1, Channel 4 and Sky One. I am also fortunate enough to have had my songs recorded by some of my favourite artists including skiffle pioneer and key Beatle influence Joe Brown, Capital Records recording artist Jamie O'Neal and the great English prog-rock band Stackridge.
My songs have been used in 'Heroes' winner of best international program at the 2008 Bafta awards and in the Emmy and Golden Globe award winning US serial drama television series 'Lost', in the Shogakuhan award winning Japanese anime TV series Tsuribaka Nisshi and in 'Dear Wendy' a film by Lars Von Trier which won a Silver St.George at the 2005 Moscow International Film Festival and was nominated for a World Soundtrack Award by the World Soundtrack Academy in 2005.
In recent times two songs I co-wrote with Leslie Mills, 'Higher' and 'My Favorite Year' featured on Leslie's 'Everlasting Road' CD and were co-published with Paul McCartney's MPL Tunes, 'Like a Miracle' a song co-written with Monte Warden and Colin Boyd was recorded by Colin for inclusion on his 2008 release 'Shine', and during 2009 and 2010 Austin-based singer Kevin Ahart has recorded four of my songs for inclusion on his forthcoming CD 'Songs in the Key of Love'.
Current Scholarship:
2006: MA Professional Learning Dissertation: 'An Investigation into the Epistemology and Pedagogy of Songwriting with a view to Informing the Development of a Curriculum to Support the Implementation of a Postgraduate Award'. This is an enquiry into songwriting knowledge and how current HE teaching strategies seek to facilitate that knowledge.
In May 2006 I was awarded PALATINE funding to undertake further research into the teaching and learning of Songwriting. This paper focuses upon key pedagogical debates in the subject area and findings were published on the PALATINE website in March 2007 http://www.palatine.ac.uk/development-awards/297/.
2007: PhD: This research extends my previous enquiries into the teaching and learning of songwriting in Higher Education.
March 2008: I delivered a paper on the subject of songwriting and employability at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.
February 2009: I delivered a paper at Leeds College of Music that discussed some of the key pedagogical influences on the design of the MA Songwriting programme.
Last Updated: 27 January 2010.
This page is created by the above named individual. The views expressed are theirs and are not those of Bath Spa University. BSU is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced.