The Recipient Of The 2021 Academic Performance Excellence Award

Tom Aitken, a 21-year-old Scottish student pursuing composition and music theory, with a specialization in electronic and experimental music, at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, is extremely passionate about his studies. “During the last couple of semesters my fascination with electroacoustic music has grown arms and legs, guided by a wonderful professor but also by the city of Vienna; strong sub-culture trends flow underneath the city and they seem to effortlessly fuel and aid artistic expression”, he says in his letter of motivation. His passion for music clearly shines even through his words – Tom is driven by his strive towards innovation and new concepts in music. “I am currently attempting to explore a purely noise-based production of sound with moments of blissful awareness; reflecting upon the tranquility of calmness and slow-paced harmony.”

One of the factors that set Tom apart was his exceptional academic performance and his continuously maintained excellent grades. In addition, he has attended masterclasses and composition classes, performed for HM the Queen and the Scottish Parliament, and won a prize from the Kazakh National University of Arts among a number of other achievements. Tom’s mentor, Lorenzo Cavallini, says in his letter of recommendation: “He was accepted onto the Diploma course in composition in May 2019. It is a remarkable achievement for someone so young. He has since thrived, not only in his studies, but also in the early stages of his career: receiving premieres in the Middle East, Greece and Austria at contemporary music festivals such as CEME 2020 and outHEAR New Music Week. He has since been accepted onto the 12th edition of implus in Graz, Austria - a fantastic opportunity to share his artistic visions with some of the greatest living composers and musicians.”

The pandemic has heavily impacted many students’ financial situation. There is another factor that has made Tom’s situation difficult – “I am not eligible to receive public funds from the Student Awards Agency Scotland, even as a native Scot, as the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna is not included in the five universities, for which SAAS provides overseas grants. Nor am I eligible for public funds in Austria as I am not an Austrian citizen. In addition, the UK's withdrawal from the EU severely complicates matters when seeking financial aid from Austria.” The lack of financial support and his inability to find part-time work because of the extremely demanding and time-consuming studies have left Tom in a tough situation. That is precisely why he sought out financial support on universitaet.com: “Any financial assistance would be extremely valued; it would be an honour to be considered for support. I admire organisations like this for providing the opportunity for young men and women to further their academic potential.”

When he found out that he had been selected to receive the Academic Performance Excellence Award, Tom said: “It is nice to be recognised with this endorsement. I put a lot of effort into my studies and always have done, so I’m glad that this can be rewarded with some financial security and some breathing space to create some sort of meaningful art during my studies in Europe’s musical capital.”

What does he intend to use the grant for? Tom Aitken explains that he will be able to cover the costs of the graphic design software ‘Illustrator' as well as the visual programming language for music and multimedia software 'Max'. The latter is required for his electronic and experimental music studies with Karlheinz Essl, but the one-time payment of £180 is a very high cost for a student. What is more, ‘Illustrator’ has been recommended to him by Europe's leading artists whom he met at various international seminars, masterclasses and academies in Switzerland, Greece and Israel. The 21-year-old recognizes the importance of both tools in his studies and beyond: “I strongly feel that this software would enable my growing interests to take shape, perhaps allowing my own voice to form and providing an innovative digital solution to some of the problems caused by the wrong compositional ‘tools’.”

After completing his Diploma studies, Tom plans to work on a research project centred on the Scottish Murder Ballad, “The Bonnie Banks o’ Fordie”. He has already planned it in advance and describes it as “a comparative study involving noise-orientated compositions and their respective hierarchy of salients as well as my own art, which takes into considerations the multifaceted field of live electronics and the layered sound of the mundane day-to-day entangled with distorted phonetics”. Another passion of his is rock-climbing, which he hopes to one day combine with his love of music.

When asked if he has any words of advice for his fellow students, Tom recommends some essentials: regular exercise, sleeping and eating well, as well as a healthy balance between social life and university work. “And without sounding too guru, be kind to yourself and expect that things will go wrong”, he adds. “A friend of mine has recently just discovered a huge hole in his PhD but this however can be equally as beneficial as constant improvement and forward development. I guess that “success” is never a continuous, linear line.”