University of Pretoria (UP) Bachelor of Music graduate Mike Ford has been flying the UP flag high on the international stage.

Ford, who specialised in performance (orchestral conducting), was born in Port Elizabeth and is currently based in Dubai where he works as a consultant in the Dubai office of the Boston Consulting Group. Prior to this, he lived in New York for eight years, where he completed a PhD in historical musicology at Columbia University and taught an Introduction to Music module, which all undergraduates at the university had to take as part of their course of study.

After graduating from UP, Ford remained affiliated with UP’s Music Department, playing in other students’ recitals and tutoring music theory.

“I also started a small orchestra, which I ran and conducted,” he said. “We had a few performances at the UP Chapel. The music programme at UP excelled in teaching modern music and I gained a comprehensive understanding of the standard repertoire.”

Ford notes that his education at UP was useful while he was pursuing a master’s degree at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He says that at first, he felt that his American peers were more advanced in music, but that he soon realised this was not the case.

“I had deeper knowledge in some segments of musicology, on a par with most of my classmates, and the skills that I acquired at UP allowed me to get up to speed where I was lacking in knowledge,” Ford explains. “During the first semester, my classmates started turning to me for expertise on some topics, or for support as a thought partner on others.” 

He believes that alumni have to demonstrate the values of their alma mater.

“People should look at alumni and wonder where they went to school, and not be surprised when they look it up on LinkedIn,” Ford says. “There is no better reflection of an alma mater than an alum who is shining like a star.”

He further says that for those who have moved abroad, there is perhaps an extra role to play.

“We should make efforts to bring our old and new environments into dialogue, creating links between our alma mater and our current networks.”

His fondest memories of his time at UP was playing and attending concerts at the Musaion.

“It is one of the few concert halls in Pretoria that consistently programmes classical music,” Ford said. “I have many fond memories of rehearsing and performing in that hall. It also created a community of music-lovers and it was comforting to see familiar faces at different concerts and events throughout the years.”