About me
Hi! I’m Tom, and I’m a first-year Music student at Queen’s. I’m from London (although Cyprus originally), and moving to Oxford was my first time living in a different city. I wanted to study Music as its interdisciplinary nature really excited me – you can choose to study its aspects of history, politics, philosophy, geography, mathematics, psychology, the list is endless. The intersection of the changing role of music in our every day lives across multimedia forms was also a key interest which I wanted to keep exploring.
College experience
My favourite thing about Queen’s is the choir and EMS (our College music society)! Taking a break from work to sing through some fun a capella arrangements on a Saturday afternoon is probably the highlight of my week. It is also incredible fun singing evensongs with very supportive and talented people, as well as the tours and album recordings.
Oxford life
I always try to start the day right with breakfast in Hall, and will likely have a few hours of tutorials or lectures in the morning at the Music Faculty. I’ll then often take an hour or so to catch up with friends after lectures (Independent Cafe opposite the Music Fac is a must), and then head back to College for lunch. I’ll then spend a few hours working in the library, before more tutorials or choir. Depending on the workload, I’ll then either head back to the library after choir and dinner, which may or may not be preceded by choir drinks…
Advice for applicants
Don’t be ashamed of your interests, especially if you think they might not be ‘academic’. Most of my personal statement and interests during my application were in k-pop, Into the Woods, and Jacob Collier, so don’t feel you have to just be excited by Mozart string quartets to apply.
