A MUSICIAN who has built a career opening doors for women into the industry will be awarded an degree from University Centre Colchester.

Julia Usher, project director at Colchester New Music and Arts Action East, is being recognised for her contribution to music locally and regionally with an honorary doctorate.

It is one of higher education’s most prestigious tributes, designed to recognise lifetime accomplishments and contributions, and validated by Essex University.

In 1987, Julia joined the initial group which founded Women in Music and attended events run by the Composer’s Guild of Great Britain, now known as BASCA.

She trained as a music therapist at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre, which led to her becoming an advisor for musical therapists across East Anglia.

Alongside working as a professional composer, Julia was commissioned in 2015 to write a piece to mark the restoration of the Moot Hall organ.

Her piece, the Art and Industry of Pipework, combined the renewed organ with electronic sounds recorded in the Man Diesel UK factory in Colchester.

The ceremonies will take place on October 6 and 7 at Colchester Town Hall.