NSM Academy Faculty
Bourby Webster
Visionary musician, creative and entrepreneur
Bourby started life as a professional violist with a degree in music from Oxford University and a post graduate qualification from the Royal College of Music in London. An audition led to her
being a founding member of the British-based electric string quartet ‘Bond’ signed to Universal Records giving her a unique insight into the contemporary and commercial music world.
On moving to Perth, Western Australia, in 2000, she focused on a corporate career rising quickly to executive roles, eventually breaking out to found North Street Music in 2007 with the aim of producing major international concerts and experiences from the world’s most remote city.
This ambition led to the creation of the Perth Symphony Orchestra in 2011 – an orchestra that is now one of the largest arts companies in Western Australia. Bourby was named Western Australian of the Year in 2019 in Arts & Culture for her work with the orchestra in reaching thousands of Western Australians with orchestral music.
North Street Music created and produced numerous concert concepts and experiences for the PSO which are now in demand due to the deep care and attention paid to the music, the musicians, the composers and the audiences, whilst understanding the commercial and other pressures faced by promoters in presenting large-scale concerts and productions.
She and her team continue to write, produce and create orchestral performances, as well as continually revisit existing concerts to ensure they remain exciting, relevant and meaningful in today’s volatile world.
Bourby lectured at the famous WA Academy of Performing Arts ( WAPAA – which boasts Hugh Jackman and Heath Ledger among its alumni) from 2008 to 2018, developing business skills courses for musicians. These courses have been in demand from creatives around the world. She has spent years mentoring individual creatives in one-on-one sessions, understanding many creatives spend years honing their talent without the other necessary business skills to ensure they are successful in their careers.
Her experience founding and growing a major arts company ensures she can work with numerous creative organisations and companies on strategies and programs to transform them into highly successful, sustainable entities.
Gaetan Schurrer
Engineer, Producer, Sound Design
Gaëtan is NSM’s Technical Director.
He is a world-class programmer and engineer, with considerable experience working with diverse musicians from synthesiser artists to symphony orchestras. He hails from France and spent the majority of his professional career in London. Following a few years in the USA, he moved to Australia in 2011 where he began working with North Street Music.
His resumé is impressive. His work can be found on several albums with DJs Sasha and John Digweed (including the seminal album ‘Northern Exposure’), he took M-People’s music into the UK top 10 earning the group the 1994 Mercury Prize for ‘Elegant Slumming’ (and a double platinum disc in the process); he spent years working on Jeff Wayne’s iconic The War of The Worlds album, turning it into a 5.1 surround sound masterpiece and global touring arena show, as well as production work on the new generation album released in late 2012; and working with many more artists such as Faithless and Kylie Minogue on hundreds of commercially successful records.
Gaëtan is regularly in demand oversees. A career highlight came in 2012 when he was beckoned to the UK to work with Neil Davidge (Massive Attack) on the Halo 4 videogame soundtrack in Bristol, and record the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road, London. In Australia, Gaëtan has worked with the Perth Symphony Orchestra, on the North Street Music recording project Eden, consulted on high tech pro audio gear at Soundtown – Perth’s premier pro audio shop, as well as mixing live for numerous bands and venues. He also records, mixes, remixes and produces in his own Yellowstone studio, having notably recorded and produced two albums for local hero songstress Ezereve.
As Technical Director of NSM, he works with clients to deliver concerts and performances across the world, developing technical and production riders, working on-site or remotely, ensuring clients can deliver an exceptional experience.
His wealth of knowledge will be highly valuable for anybody looking for world-class advice, recording, mixing or production services, and his synthesiser and programming courses are in high demand.
