Press release
08.12.2008 - Sennheiser UK
Sennheiser Helps Student ´Breaking´ into Music Industry
Sennheiser Scholarship Student Alyssa Bonagura has just released her first commercially available CD, which can now be downloaded directly via iTunes.
Alyssa, a third year student studying BA (Hons) in Sound Technology at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA), was helped on her musical journey by her Sennheiser Scholarship, which began at LIPA over ten years ago and has since supported many students' entries into the highly competitive world of the music industry.
The five-track EP entitled 'Before The Breaking' has been independently released, and Alyssa has already attracted interest from various major labels.
The release of the EP is another landmark in an already successful 2008. Earlier this year Alyssa was chosen as a featured unsigned artist on the Record of the Day music industry website www.recordoftheday.com and her self-penned track Lonely Friday was selected by Fran Healy, lead singer of the band, Travis, to be part of the annual LIPA Records EP, which was out on digital release this May.
To be chosen as a featured artist on Record of the Day is a great accolade for an unsigned performer at such an early stage of their career. Record of the Day only picks music the editor loves and the service has helped break many artists. Recent successes include The Hoosiers, Kate Nash and Newton Faulkner.
"I couldn't believe that my track had been chosen by Record of the Day," said 20-year-old Alyssa, a native of Nashville, Tennessee. "Studying at LIPA is really enjoyable. It's a school like no other and has not only broadened my knowledge of how to record music, but has also opened so many doors for me as a performer. Having the benefit of the Sennheiser Scholarship has really helped me just concentrate on my studies and my music. I'm so excited about my new EP and I feel very positive about the future."
Fran Healy and Record Of The Day's thoughts were echoed by Robin Gibb of The
Bee Gees, who first became a fan of Alyssa when putting together his
compilation of LIPA talent last year.
"Stunning, original, a future star in the making," he predicted. "It's only a question of time before she has a number one record."
"We're delighted to hear how well Alyssa is progressing at LIPA and in the industry," added Sennheiser UK General Manager Phil Massey. "It's important for us that the next generation of performers and audio professionals learn their trade using Sennheiser equipment. That's why we've been committed to the Scholarship programme for over ten years. Artists like Alyssa prove that our investment is money well spent."
For more information about Sennheiser please visit www.sennheiser.co.uk or call:
Robert Collins, Sennheiser Pro PR
T: 07966 294 877