Hello, my name’s Che Chesterman, I’m 19, I studied Music Performance at South Essex College and this is my story.
When I was thinking of going to college I didn’t really know where to go or what to do. Having weighed up my options South Essex College just seemed like the best for me. When I had my audition for Music Performance it just felt right, it was so warm and the teachers were lovely and it felt like the right decision.
I had a fantastic experience at the College, the teachers were amazing and it was so much more than I thought it would be. Everything I wanted to do I was doing at the College - things like gigs - and it set me up for what I am doing now. I think that if I hadn’t have taken that course I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing now.
Since I left the College I have been doing a lot of singing which is what I was doing at the College and what the teachers were helping me with. I have been gigging a lot which I absolutely love. Since I left College I have had so many gigs and I think that the gigs that I did while I was at the College have helped me so much to be confident with crowds and stuff.
I auditioned for the X-Factor back in July and it was a weird experience for me because I wasn’t sure whether I was going to do it or not. In the end I decided to do it and I went to Wembley Arena. I sung Who You Are by Jessie J and I got four yeses from the judges which was amazing, It just fills you with confidence. I went on to Boot Camp and there waere two stages which I got through. It is now at the Six Chair Challenge which is where I am at and it so far it has been an amazing experience. The first time I ever gigged was with this College, the first time ever performed in front of a crowd was with this College, and without the help of this College I don’t think I would have been able to step at Wembley and sing in front of thousands of people.
I think every aspect of me as a musician has improved since being at the College. At the start there was a lot that I couldn’t do that I can now do for instance the high notes that I do come from the College. The performance and how you perform on stage, how you act on stage, being professional, what to say, what not to say, the College and the teachers do everything to help you and do so much more than they should do because they do care about students and I think that that is the most important thing.
I want to be making records, I want to be selling albums, it’s every singers’ dream. But the dream is just to earn a living out of singing, I think that is the ultimate thing. If I’m not making records or selling albums as long as I’m gigging around enough to make a living out of it, that’s the big dream for me.