A new music school based in Brighton, England, has recruited a stellar cast of tutors to teach courses in songwriting, vocals, guitar, bass and drums. The Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM) has attracted the likes of Martin McCarrack (Therapy), Skye (Morcheeba), Ace and Mark Richardson (Skunk Anansie), Rob Harris (Jamiroquai) and Carleen Anderson (Brand New Heavies) to teach full and part-time courses from their base at Rock Place, Brighton.

Founded and funded by industry veterans Bruce Dickinson, Kevin Nikon, Sarah Clayman, and Damien Keyes, the courses are designed to give practical help to artists at the intermediate stage.

Former Boyzone frontman and solo artist Ronan Keating has sponsored several tuitions for the year-long vocalist course, and will judge the first round of auditions in August. "I'm very happy to help out," Keating said. "There's so many talented new artists out there, sometimes they need a helping hand to get them started in the music industry."

The songwriting course, held in conjunction with BMG Publishing, features tutorials with seasoned writers such as Mark Flannery (Def Leppard, Tom Jones, U2), and Ian Ramage, managing director of BMG Publishing. There will also be a songwriting competition sponsored by Neil Hannon of Divine Comedy, who will conduct master classes along with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.

"We are really excited about developing this new program with BIMM," Ramage said. "It gives us the opportunity to invest and develop new talent."