Box Hill Institute - Leaders In Contemporary Music Education

Name and title: Ben Wiesner, Head of Music, Box Hill Institute.

Why is mid-year enrolment so important?

There are many reasons students want to begin mid-year. There are students who have changed their mind and want to change courses, needed to save some money and held off studying, or have just made a definite decision to study and are ready to commit to the requirements. Studying mid-year allows these students the flexibility to start immediately rather than wait another six months.

What separates Box Hill Institute from other education providers?

So many things. We have been leading contemporary music education for the last 35 years. There are very few Australian acts who don’t have an affiliation with Box Hill Institute in some form. Chris Cheney from the Living End studied here, members of Passenger, Courtney Barnett’s band all have studied at Box Hill Institute. Meg Mac’s band are made up of both Box Hill Institute staff and alumni, upcoming artist G-flip is a Box Hill Institute music graduate.

We have production students that have won Grammys and recorded international artists including Justin Bieber. Our production teachers have recorded acts like Powderfinger, The Smith Street Band, The Pogues, Morrissey, Simply Red, The Killers and Big Scary. Our performance teachers are industry connected and work with artists such as Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, 1200 techniques, Remi and Sampa the Great. 

We also have the best music training facility in the southern hemisphere. Our studios are state-of-the-art, industry-aligned, and so good that Sing Sing have partnered with us and we are opening Sing Sing East at our Box Hill Institute campus in June. We have created the perfect incubator for young musicians, producers, managers and composers to collaborate and become great while studying with us.

What are some of the key courses on offer right now?

Hip Hop is our newest program. It is the first of its kind in Australia, a nationally recognised Diploma in Music Industry (Specialising in Hip Hop). We were lucky enough to get some of the great Australian hip hop royalty, such as N’fa Jones, Mantra, dizz1 and Syrene “Creamy Spies” Favero to write and teach this course. Students learn all the skills required to be in control of their own career.

Our Sound Production program is very popular. Whether it’s a foundation program or a three-year degree, students will acquire skills in studio recording, music production, live sound, sound design, system design, acoustics, VR and gaming sound. These cutting-edge sound programs focus on developing a career in the music and media industries.

Our Composition degree has one of the most successful film and media programs in the country. Our students work on film projects with Swinburne and Deakin Universities - it is a great collaboration. The directors pitch their films to our composers, and the composers then select films and pitch the work back. 

It’s hard work for the students, but they have had great successes and have gained real-world experience. Graduates from the Composition program have gone on to work in Hollywood with Hans Zimmer, and for games companies including Blizzard.

Finally, our Masters programs are gaining momentum and competing with the bigger university programs. The music business program has very high employment outcomes in the music industry and the performance program is world class, with students building successful careers in the industry.

What does it take to succeed while studying at Box Hill Institute?

The same as it takes to succeed in the music industry - hard work, passion, commitment, and networking. At Box Hill Institute we provide students with mentoring opportunities and world-class facilities to successfully transition them into the industry. If students take these opportunities they are in the best position to make it while studying and in the industry.

Anything else you’d like to add?

If you’re thinking about your study options, come and talk to us at our mid year Information Night on 7 June, between 4pm – 7pm. You can register to attend here.