By Danielle Tzankov
Year 12
Gnesyer Gomez, a Westlake Girls’ High School alumna and a current Contemporary Music Studies student at the University of Auckland, recently held a songwriting workshop with the senior music contemporary class, which I was fortunate to participate in.
The primary focus of this workshop was to help us understand more about instrumentation in songwriting and how all the elements of a song come together to make a finished product. What I found helpful was Gnesyer’s relaxed approach which made us comfortable to share our work and ideas. The workshop was over a video call, but this did not limit her from maximising how much knowledge and real life experience she passed onto us.
Gnesyer also provided us with some insight into what music studies are like in a tertiary setting. She encouraged us to see ourselves as lifelong learners, whose paths do not need to be set in stone. In the music industry, the future can hold a variety of opportunities for us, some of which we have yet to imagine!