Collingwood's Mark Hillery Music Studios hosted the only university event as part of the official fringe for the Mercury Prize Awards. The event was a sold-out workshop on songwriting and production held on Sunday 12 October.
The prestigious Mercury Prize was created in 1992 to recognise the musical merit of the best album released by a musical act from the UK or Ireland.
The awards ceremony was held nearby in Newcastle and in the first year that the awards ceremony was held outside London, the spotlight shone on musical talent from the North East of England. North Shields’ musician, Sam Fender, won the 2025 Prize for his album, People Watching.
The Collingwood event was sponsored by Generator and free for participants. The sold-out event supported 20 local musicians, songwriters and producers learn about creating hooks, writing lyrics and production techniques behind today's biggest hits.
The session was led by Chad Rodgers, a local producer and songwriter with over 50 million downloads of his music.
The event had hands-on breakout sessions and explored immersive sound through the studios' Dolby Atmos system.
The Studios are part of Collingwood’s creative arts facilities. They comprise a state-of-the-art suite of recording spaces and two practice rooms, excellently equipped for use by our students and the local community.
Amongst the equipment in the Studios are five Steinway pianos, including a Steinway Model B grand piano which was hand-selected by a Collingwood student in Steinway’s Hamburg factory.
The University is the UK’s largest All-Steinway school.
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