Case-studies Adam Felman

Adam Felman is a 19 year old charity worker and musician. He has just returned from Israel where he has been caring for and entertaining sick children with chronic heart conditions. Adam attended Westcliff High for Boys and starts Sussex university in October 2008. Adam is also a huge film fan.



What was the most valuable lesson you learnt from your school days?

I think that primarily to just throw yourself into the extra-curricular side of things. I think the more fun you're having at school (and it IS fun- you realise this when you go to work!) the more stimulated you feel.



You've just come back from Israel - can you tell what your trip was all about?

I was working out there for an organisation called Save A Child's Heart. They fly children to Israel from all over the world. I personally took care of kids from Kenya, Ethiopia, Iraq and Zanzibar who would almost definitely have died had they not received pioneering and free heart surgery. I was there in an entertainment capacity - to play games with the children, to make music with (and for) them and to just keep them upbeat and cheerful - it's really a very difficult time for the children and their mothers. Some children are orphans and therefore require special care, so volunteers like me played an integral role there. I think it was just fantastic to see black children playing with Arabs, Jews with Muslims, Palestinians being treated by Israeli doctors and vice versa, especially in a conflict-torn country like Israel. To have a look at what it's all about you can take a look at www.saveachildsheart.org.



You’re a huge music fan -can you tell me a little bit about what you’re doing now musically?


I have my fingers in many pies at the moment. I still promote my solo act, Excuse Me Miss, and I’m in several bands including folk, indie, experimental electronica, metal and comedy rap acts, intermittently singing and playing piano, guitar, ukulele and accordion. I also started up a scheme to give piano lessons to disadvantaged children in the local area for free.



What are the best and worst parts about trying to make it in the music business?

I think the best part is that, at my age especially, you are never the best you can be, so there’s always something to strive for or another influence to pick up and make your own. The worst part is trying to get exposure, especially when you create something which is, in your own view, original and beautiful, and you see another indie band prancing around the stage and starting fights with the audience and everyone is screaming for them. People just tend to shirk things that are too different and those that don't, give up on them when they become popular and then it's back to square one.



When you were at school did you know what you wanted to do for a career?

I knew pretty early on that my life will go one of two ways: the first, and maybe the least plausible but most desirable would be to make it in the music industry. Otherwise, I could always see myself become either a film critic or a scriptwriter.



How can young people turn their talent into their career?

If you believe you are good at something, you can become great at something, and when you are great at something, and then you will love it enough to pursue that as a job. What you put in you will eventually get out.



Why do you think it’s important to support young people's talents?

Talents are more malleable and adaptable when a person is young, and this is when they can truly learn who they are and make the most out of them.

Who in your life has helped you to Shine? Who inspires you?

My father has been a constant source of support - I have played some concerts where only he has turned up. He has been there since I started playing Frere Jacques, and whenever I asked him to listen to something I'd learnt or written, he'd be there with a keen ear. I think triumph over adversity makes me realise just how lucky I am to be able to see and hear everything I do with perfect clarity, and spurs me on to greater things. The children from Israel have recently inspired me a great deal: to see them as active and happy as they are in environments harsher than you or I have ever seen and with conditions like theirs taught me a lot about myself and what I can do with my life as a happy, healthy 19 year old in a comparatively comfortable country.



What other talents do you have?


I consider myself an actor and a writer and I have also been known to give mean Mighty Boosh impersonations.



How do you think schools can help young people to develop their ideas and have the confidence to take them forward?


I think extra-curricular work is the key. I was a retiring violet in year 7, yet by the end of sixth form I had enough self-confidence to stand up and perform in front of the school. Through the encouragement of participation in this field, a young person can find out what they are/aren't good at and work on whatever they please.



What do you think about the Shine festival of talent? Is it something you would have engaged with if it was available while you were at school?


I would have thrown myself wholeheartedly into it. To see a festival to which I could productively have contributed and will cause many other buds to blossom is hugely uplifting.



What's the best advice anyone's ever given you?

I tend to make up my own advice. My line of thinking tends to be "Yes, that sentiment definitely worked for them in the context of their lives, but I need to make my own decisions and find my own way.” I was told "Be special." I took this to mean "find a niche, do something no-one else is doing, and be great at it." This shapes my thinking as far as my artistic exploits are concerned, and I think some of this comes across in my music.



What do you want to do for a career?


I want to work in the film industry, from an analytical or a creative perspective. I think that film is simply the most versatile and poetic art form there is, combining all the others to make an entirely separate entity which transcends everything it consists of. The finest music, the most striking images and the most wonderful and multi-layered acting all belong to the film world, and I want to be part of it.



You can read about Adam’s experiences in diaryofavolunteer.blogspot.com and listen to Excuse Me Miss at: www.myspace.com/excusememissuk