Ankit Chawla, OH 2012-22, is currently in his first year as an undergraduate, studying Economics and Finance at the University of Manchester.  During lockdown, he realised his love for music, which has now resulted in him releasing his first single, 'Starry Eyes'.

He developed his passion for music while studying at Hymers College and while in the Sixth Form, he and four other students from his year, started the band 'Fire Exit'.

At Hymers, I took guitar lessons from Year 4 all the way till Year 13 with Mr Shepherd. Before lockdown, I would say my interests were mainly in sport, but the time at home made me realise how much I loved playing the guitar.  From that point on, music was certainly my main passion and in Sixth form I participated in a band with four other students.

After Hymers, I took a gap year where I used the time to start writing music and learned how to sing and produce, alongside working at Costa and travelling.

Last September, I started at the University of Manchester, keeping up with the music by taking part in open mics and practising in my room. I then recorded the song in January in Manchester and look to release more music this year.

Mr Shepherd shared his memories of teaching Ankit at Hymers:

I taught Ankit the guitar throughout his entire school life at Hymers.  He started on the classical guitar working his way up to Grade 5 then made the switch to Electric guitar, which he enjoyed much more.  Soon after, he joined the newly-formed sixth form band 'Fire Exit' and they played various concerts with songs by the Arctic Monkeys and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Ankit was always polite, friendly and reliable and I used to enjoy our football and guitar chats!

Mr. Shepherd, Teacher of Music

To hear his single, please visit Apple Music

Good luck, Ankit!