Molly awarded a place in Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

Former Coleg Llandrillo student Molly Stubbs-Davies is celebrating after being accepted into the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Molly, from Deganwy, will study a Masters in Music Performance at the conservatoire in Cardiff, which attracts some of the best creative talent from across the globe.

Currently in the final year of her degree at Cardiff University, Molly studied Level 3 Music Performance and Production at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus, achieving a distinction when she finished in 2021.

She was offered a place at the Royal Academy of Music in London, but has accepted the offer from the Royal Welsh College.

“I am so proud,” said Molly, who plays trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn. “I truly did not think I was going to succeed in my applications but thought there was no reason not to.

“I wouldn't have taken this leap without the support and encouragement I received from staff while I was in college and my current trumpet teacher Martin McHale, so I am incredibly grateful to them and only hope I make them proud.”

Molly has played with Cardiff University Symphony Orchestra throughout her degree, performing in venues such as St David's Hall and the Wales Millennium Centre. She is now principal trumpet player with the orchestra.

She has also played with City of Cardiff Symphony Orchestra, and as principal cornet and solo flugelhorn with Cardiff University Brass Band.

Molly added: “For all three years of my degree I've also been principal trumpet and cornet of Cardiff University Symphonic Winds, which is an ensemble I have greatly enjoyed as we've been able to perform world premieres of pieces. Last year we played at the National Concert Band Festival and were given a gold ranking at national level.”

She said her time at college helped her develop invaluable skills, as well as providing a huge boost to her confidence.

“My time in college was incredibly valuable to me both academically but also personally,” Molly added. “I completed my GCSEs in an alternative education centre, and by the time I got to college my confidence in my own ability had been knocked.

“College helped me rebuild my self-confidence and self-worth as well as improve my independence.

“Aside from this, the course itself was excellent. With my interests lying in classical and traditional instrumental music, I was unsure whether the course would be right for me, but I am so glad I did it.

“I greatly enjoyed learning about music production and the technology side of things, and am grateful now to have a skillset that is fairly unique to my specific area of music.

“I also found the course to be very adaptable. I was able to pursue my own interests while on the course and it made for very interesting discussions with my peers as our interests and learning outcomes were often so different.”

Molly said her favourite memory from college was working on her year group’s album, Unmute, which charted on iTunes. Heading the marketing team, Molly designed and created the album cover, conducted interviews with the artists, and managed social media posts in the lead-up to the album's release.

She said: “There are so many memories from college that I treasure. I especially enjoyed the projects on film sound, on protest music, and my final major project as it was self-guided and I got to choose my topic entirely myself.

“But my absolute favourite memory was definitely putting together our album, Unmute, in year two. Much of my second year was unfortunately spent in lockdown due to the pandemic, but I loved how the class banded together to create a really good product.

“All our hard work definitely paid off as we managed to chart several times on iTunes and even hit number 1 in a few charts - which is an achievement I still put on my CV.”

Asked for her advice for anyone thinking of applying to study Music and Music Technology at Coleg Llandrillo, Molly said: “If you are interested then go for it.

“No matter what music you’re interested in, whether you are more of a performer, a composer or producer, I truly think you can take something valuable away from this course.

“Your experience will be varied and push you out of your comfort zone but will lead to exciting results. You can tailor the course to your own interests and goals, and will come out of the course having had a truly unique experience and a qualification that will take you wherever you want it to.”

James Taylor, Programme Leader for Level 3 Music Performance and Production at Coleg Llandrillo, said: “We were very proud of Molly’s achievements here before she progressed to university.

“She always completed work to a standard far higher than the qualification she was going to study, and we always knew she would go far. A classically trained musician, Molly’s progression to RWCMD is no surprise to us.”

Interested in studying Music and Music Technology with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai? Click here to find out more about our courses.