MEET THE MASTERS
– STUDENT –
Sarah Homeh
Sarah Homeh is a student of the Master of Creative Industries program at SAE. We caught up with Sarah as she shares her professional journey and her ongoing passion and commitment to a life filled with creativity, music and culture.
Why did you decide to start postgraduate study?
During a COVID lockdown, I was in a state of despair in regards to my career. I doubted my early choice to pursue music and performing professionally.
When the world stopped with the global pandemic, so did my performing career. I felt mentally and emotionally stunted, and I needed a way out. I looked into other jobs, other jobs within the arts career field, other career fields altogether, but every alternative I looked at, it just didn’t make me happy the way music did.
I realised I needed to change the way I went about being a professional musician. I read something on a ‘Women In Music’ Instagram page and it was motivation to – Figure out how to be a financially successful professional musician; make music at home, make music for ads, make music for film, make merch, set up an entertainment business, etc. After reading about the Masters of Creative Industries at SAE I was really drawn to the whole ethos of it all; learn how to be financially successful, but more importantly, make sure that making meaningful art is at the centre of everything you are doing.
What is your background?
I have a Bachelors of Music with Honours (Class 1) from UNSW. I have been gigging in the Sydney music scene from about 2016, and have toured around NSW across to Western Australia.
As a session player I have appeared on a few records, and I gig professionally as a fill-in and as a regular for Vixen Strings. I also run my own entertainment business servicing corporate and wedding events.
I also play in a band called Monstress and released an EP in 2020 and a single in 2022.
In 2022 I ran a grant funded project called ‘Showcasing Women In Jazz’ and did just that with a bunch of great musicians in Sydney’s Marrickville at the Gasoline Pony.
Tell us about your capstone project?
My capstone music project is a music piece that is a fusion of Assyrian and my modern Australian influences; hip hop, neo soul, and nu jazz. The goal of the project is to uncover my identity, and will follow an autoethnographic method. It is anticipated that through this process, it will assist in gaining insight into the hegemonic socio-cultrual structures of modern Australia from the perspective of a 2nd generation migrant, as well as the role of music to articulate and communicate ideas.
What are your motivations behind creating the project?
To uncover the part of my identity that I have denied myself since assimilating into Western Australian culture. To look further and to better understand intersectionality.
Could you please tell us about the workflow and processes behind your project
Previously I have used a combination of logging my ideas via journal entries, notes on my phone, phone recordings. I still use this method, but SAE has helped refine these processes in order to better organise ideas, data, and research. I also rely heavily on ‘jamming’ with others either musically, or through dialogue. Musical composition and improvisation are key elements to my workflow and creative processes.
What are your career goals for the future?
In the future, I hope to circulate my music through both live performance and online streaming, as well as in other areas of the entertainment industry including film, tv, and media etc. I also hope to create a successful live entertainment business and continue to create and develop projects that help stimulate creativity and culture within Australia.
What drew you to work within the creative industries and become a creative practitioner?
I just really love listening/making music/art, and talking/thinking about culture. Apologies for such a boring answer.
How does completing the MCI online suit your lifestyle?
Working online works really well with my schedule as my gigging life is very unpredictable and scattered. Since it is one of my main sources of income, I do have to prioritise it.
However, webinars are usually recorded, and lecturers are aware of and considerate of my situation.
What are your top three tips for working online?
- Get a good setup: Invest in speakers or headphones for Zoom lectures.
- Start assessments and online learning tasks early.
- Ask questions if you have them, even if you think they’re stupid.
