Nurturing our future talent
As recruitment begins for the third cohort of the National Youth Folk Ensemble, Sarah Jones, Programme Manager for the Ensemble, reflects on the journey so far
The standing ovation at Shrewsbury Folk Festival last summer was a proud moment for the National Youth Folk Ensemble. It marked the culmination of the first year of this major new EFDSS programme. The young musicians had taken part in four intensive residential courses with some of the biggest names in folk, recorded a CD, performed around the country in Bury, London, Derby and Whitby, and completed their summer tour with this celebratory performance in Shrewsbury.
The Ensemble, which is supported by Arts Council England, was launched by EFDSS in 2016 with 17 talented 14-18 year-old instrumentalists from across England. The second year began in October 2017 with returning and new members. Like other national youth music organisations, the Ensemble aims to provide a progression route for excellent young players. With Artistic Director Sam Sweeney at the helm and a team of skilled folk music educators, including Rob Harbron, Sarah Hayes, Andy Cutting, Saul Rose, Jenn Butterworth and Emma Reid, the young musicians receive expert tuition and guidance. They are supported to develop as individual musicians and ensemble players, and they have the opportunity to learn about what it’s like to be a professional musician.
Each new cohort comes together for the first time at folk arts residential centre Halsway Manor – a magical place to spend five days learning and arranging music, delving into manuscripts of traditional tunes, making compositions and forging friendships. During the year, the courses take place in different regions of England and include group workshops, one-to-one instrumental lessons, morris and ceilidh dancing and social time.
From the start, everything has been built around the individual voices and creative development of the young musicians. The young musicians are encouraged to explore their creativity, bring their musical ideas to the group and find and teach repertoire. Traditional and newly composed tunes are arranged collectively on the courses, and the young musicians are given the space to take ownership of the music they play on and off stage. The tutors encourage them to find their own musical voices and play tunes the way they want to play them.
The Ensemble is made up of musicians who have played folk music all of their lives and those who have recently ‘found’ folk. Most of them have explored a range of musical genres and traditions, and all of them bring their own influences to the overall sound of the Ensemble.
Behind the scenes we have a vision: young people throughout England discovering, playing and loving folk music.
Through the Ensemble and our fledgling engagement programme, we aim to grow youth folk activities and raise the profile of folk in the music education sector. We put huge value on the great work already happening around the country in youth folk music, without which a national ensemble would have been impossible to consider. We are committed to supporting the folk ecology through linking existing youth folk activities and signposting young musicians to opportunities. We are also working to inspire organisations to develop new youth folk projects and groups, particularly in areas where there is little provision. By having a high quality and highly visible youth ensemble, we are already seeing positive responses in the music education sector and we are in regular dialogues with music education hubs, which seem to be increasingly receptive to folk music. Our engagement programme began in autumn 2017 with a creative learning project led by Miranda Rutter and Rob Harbron for Bury Music Service’s Youth Strings. This eight-week project included continual professional development for teachers across Greater Manchester Music Hub and resulted in a showcase at The Met in Bury.
We believe in championing good practice in folk music education and providing professional development opportunities for our educators. Before working with the National Youth Folk Ensemble, all tutors and pastoral staff are invited on two days of skills development, incorporating lively discussions around music leadership, peer learning and input from experts in other areas of arts education. In January, we hosted the first of our Running a Youth Folk Ensemble professional development days in Leeds. Its purpose was to share teaching methods used by the Ensemble’s current creative team, give a platform to other organisations working with young people in folk music (in this case Folkworks and ArtForms Leeds), and discuss approaches to youth folk groups with music teachers. We are also offering shadowing opportunities to Ensemble members and alumni who want to gain experience in education and event management.
We’re pleased to see young leaders emerging who are setting up their own folk groups in their communities.
We want to enable more young musicians to experience the Ensemble. Our Sampler Days offer a learning opportunity during a day of inspiring creative workshops with Sam Sweeney, Rob Harbron and Miranda Rutter. These Sampler Days, which take place across England during May half-term, are free to attend and open to 14–18 year old instrumentalists. They are positive and welcoming days, with the added option of auditioning for the 2018–19 National Youth Folk Ensemble.
We have an important opportunity with the Ensemble and wider engagement programme to raise the profile of folk music in England, celebrate talent and develop a community of practice in folk music education. By supporting the performers, educators and leaders of the future, we hope to encourage more people to discover a lifelong love of folk music.
SAMPLER DAYS 2018
26 May: Manchester Royal Northern College of Music
27 May: York The National Centre for Early Music
28 May: Gateshead Sage Gateshead
29 May: Didcot Cornerstone
31 May: Cambridge Cambridge Junction
1 June: London Cecil Sharp House
2 June: Okehampton Ebenezer Hall
3 June: Derby Guildhall Theatre Clubrooms
LIVE DATES 2018
Monday 9 April Cecil Sharp House Friday
3 August Cambridge Folk Festival Sunday
5 August Sidmouth Folk Week
www.efdss.org/youthfolk
