Graduate story: Ben Rosen

Ben Rosen
Managing Director/Composer of The Gunnery
Bachelor of Arts (contemporary music) 1991
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Contemporary Music

It was a natural progression for me to go to university. I wasn't ready to work straight out of high school and liked the idea of spending three years getting qualified and meeting lots of new people.

I majored in bass playing and composition. I was surrounded by like-minded people who helped to make the learning experience loads of fun. I got to immerse myself in music 24/7. We lived and breathed music. As a community of musicians we played together and wrote together all the time, in any situation. It was the greatest three years of my life.

After graduating I went on to become a professional bass player and performed with the likes of Sound Unlimited,Bloody Mary, Nikka Costa, Juice, Jenny Morris, Sheena Easton and Lucky Valentine in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the United States and Asia. I have been a professional composer since 2000 and have worked as a producer/remixer with Marilyn Manson, Muse, Unwritten Law, Grinspoon and 8MM.

My degree really opened doors to getting an overseas work visa. The friendships and networks I developed at Southern Cross University are still very active, and the studies gave me theoretical knowledge in music and production that I employ every day at The Gunnery, a music production house that I founded with two partners in Singapore in 2008. We specialise in creating music and sound design for TV commercials, films, television shows, movie trailers and artists.

Updated: 07 November 2012