BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
A music degree can be an intense – and intensely rewarding – life experience.
It doesn’t matter how old we are, or what discipline we choose to study. When we make the decision to learn about our art at an academic level, we are stepping toward a future dedicated to our passion. And that’s why it’s important to make the most of it while we can, before we venture into the professional world.
In this new series, we learn about what happens to musicians after they graduate from university. Through these interviews, we’ll explore how some of our generation’s leading talent have taken the knowledge they obtained at uni, and applied it into their careers.
You’ll read about the biggest challenges they faced during their studies, their confidence, and their big breaks.
Each one of these artists has graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium, and now reflects on how far they’ve come since their first day of study. In this interview, we chat with Shubshri Kandiah.
Shubshri made her professional debut straight out of university. Graduating in 2017 from her studies in musical theatre, she almost immediately scored a leading role in Disney’s Aladdin – The Musical. Her success has made news headlines across Nine, SBS, and The West Australian.
It signals a fulfilling career on the horizon, backed by experiences through which she performed in university shows from Sweet Charity to West Side Story; and as a featured vocalist with the Queensland Pops Orchestra and in the 2017 Spirit of Christmas Concert at QPAC.
Shubshri has also performed in Opera Queensland’s The Pearlfishers, and a duet with Liz Callaway in An Evening with Liz Callaway at QPAC.
Thanks for taking part in our chat! Tell us all about your musical life and career.
I started performing at a young age, learning classical Indian dance, ballet and violin. I was accepted into the Bachelor of Musical Theatre course at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, graduating 2017.
I am currently performing the role of Princess Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin the Musical.
Before we move forward, let’s talk about how you’ve arrived here. What did you study at university and why did you want to enrol in this area?
My first year out of school, I completed a Certificate II course in Musical Theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, as well as starting my first year of a Primary Education degree.
The second year out [of school, I] auditioned for musical theatre schools and got knocked back, so continued solely with my education degree. I realised in that year how much I loved performing, and how I didn’t feel I was in the right place studying education.
The third year out, I successfully auditioned and gained a place studying Musical Theatre at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.
I still didn’t know if I was making the right career choice, but I knew I was happy.
How did you find your academic experience?
Once finding the right course, I found much more joy in doing my coursework as I was studying something that I found interesting, and really challenged and engaged me.
What do you remember being your most challenging year, and why did you decide to push through?
I found my first year of university the most challenging. My family lives in Perth, and I moved to Brisbane to study Musical Theatre, so I missed my family and friends.
What made me stay was realising that I couldn’t let the things that were bringing me down stand in the way of me achieving my goals.
How did studying music at uni help increase your confidence as an emerging young artist?
It helped me to feel more confident going into auditions, which is so important. You won’t get the job if you don’t do well in the audition, and I felt like the classes at uni really prepared you well for this.
Uni also helped me learn more about managing my body and voice, and helped me learn more about myself as a performer and person.
Tell us about how you navigated the world of music after your graduation. Did you have a “big break” or was it a slow burn?
I did have a big break. Aladdin was my first audition out of uni. Although I was unsuccessful at first, when the time came that they needed a new Jasmine, four months after my audition. I was offered the role.
But in that time before I knew I had the role, I was juggling working casual jobs, getting to classes, and maintaining physical and vocal fitness for shows and well as doing short gigs and auditioning.
How have you used the networks obtained through your degree, and how do you work to maintain these relationships?
I think uni provided me with many contacts in the industry, as we worked with industry professionals throughout the degree in the form of intensive workshops, directing and choreographing our shows, and performing alongside them.
In my own experience, I was lucky enough to feature as a soloist with the Queensland Pops Orchestra in my second and third years of uni; and thanks to the close relationship with QPAC and in particular Paul Dellit, I was chosen to sing alongside Liz Callaway in her concert An Evening with Liz Callaway, and was a soloist at QPAC’s The Spirit of Christmas in my final year of uni.
In what ways do you continue to use the knowledge or skills you achieved during your studies, now that you’re well into your career?
I constantly use the knowledge I learnt at uni. I have a better understanding of my body and my voice, and have learnt to accommodate to areas that may not be working too well on some days, for whatever reason.
I have learnt how to better analyse and understand different texts and characters, and have learnt more about myself and how to work to the best of my strengths and my weaknesses.
What words of advice would you offer to young musicians along their academic journey?
I would say that while you are still studying, work hard at your weaknesses to make you a more rounded performer, and always keep challenging yourself.
We’re excited to collaborate with Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University to shed light on life after university for those studying music. Stay tuned for our next interview!
READ NEXT: Life after uni: Amber Evans, voice
Images supplied.
