Alumna Flora Taylor Inspires Through Music & Empowerment

Former East Sussex College Music student Flora Taylor is making waves in the music scene with her creative projects and commitment to empowerment through music.

Since leaving East Sussex College, Flora has built an impressive portfolio of work - performing, composing, and delivering community-based music education projects - reflecting the breadth of opportunity available to students as they develop their creative skills and explore future pathways.

Flora credits her time at East Sussex College as an important foundation for her musical journey, giving her the skills, confidence, and freedom to explore and create.

“Music education is really important to me as it's what got me to this point,” said Flora. “There are lots of times when I’ve been close to giving up on music and having supportive tutors that believed in me such as John Sims who encouraged me to apply for Conservatoire while I was studying A-Level music, has kept me going and now I can’t imagine stopping. It was also studying here that allowed me to try different styles of music such as Big Band, choir singing, playing in pop bands, as well as classical saxophone that’s led me to have an interest in many musical styles now.”

Her journey reflects both her passion for collaboration and her dedication to using music as a force for connection and change.

“My time at Leeds Conservatoire was long as I went in wanting to play classical saxophone and piano, then tried out pop sax, then finally switched to jazz, where I met other people who love improvising (this is where my previous project Goddess Collective was born),” said Flora. “In my final year I studied composition (and won a composition prize to write a Big Band chart for Youth Bands in the North under Nikki Iles) and realised I wanted to write music from my own voice, which is something I’d not thought about doing before.”

Flora added, “Trying as many different music experiences as I possibly could in university meant I could narrow down what I care about. I’m now running my own project - Flo/ra - exploring my experience of neurodivergence, identity and grief - that I write for and gig with. I never imagined this would be possible before I studied composition.”

Representation and empowerment remain central to Flora’s work.

“Representation in the music industry is really important to me because there’s far fewer of us out there. It’s important to make safe and encouraging spaces so we get the same chances to express ourselves as our male counterparts. I think self expression is so important to mental health and wellbeing and I want everyone to have the chance to do that. I also think everyone deserves to feel empowered to express themselves in ways that suit them and to have their voices heard, which is why I work in a disabled arts charity now and work in access to arts of all types, running workshops for isolated and disabled queer people and doing support work and community music workshops.”

Flora is also passionate about music education and inspiring the next generation.

“I’m really passionate about passing on the love of music that was given to me by my teachers and making it possible for young people who may not have the experience or possibility of music training to access it. Also in encouraging young people to realise that music making can be about joy and connection, it doesn’t have to be perfect.”

Looking ahead, Flora encourages current students to pursue their passions and embrace all the opportunities available.

“There’s no one way to make a career in the music industry but I found one of the most helpful things was making friends with and talking to people who have a career I want to have and who are making it happen, as representation is really important to see what you can achieve,” Flora told the College.

“Without that it's hard to know that you can make it happen and to what extent. Another piece of advice I have is that finding people you love working with and who can boost you up when you feel unconfident is so important. It can be a hard industry to be in and feel tempting to quit at times, but if you can keep people around you that remind you why you put in all the hard work to do it, that can really help when your confidence dips. You can also make a patchwork “portfolio” career by doing so many things, it really is possible but is hard to give specific advice on as the options really are endless and it can form quite a unique career.”

Flora added, “For example, I’ve run community music workshops, performed in a range of projects that have meant playing at festivals such as Love Supreme, and at venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, composed for and run workshops for Youth Big Bands, and I do this alongside working in disability access and my other creative projects in the arts more generally.”

Flora’s journey stands as a powerful example of how a creative education can open the door to a wide range of fulfilling career pathways - a reminder of the many exciting routes available to those exploring their future in the arts through our Creative Careers programmes.