Call Out for Young Indian Folk Musicians
Bhangra Ceilidh Research and Development Project
With Kuljit Bhamra, Becky Price, and English Folk Dance and Song Society
We are currently developing a new project based on the concept of a Bhangra Ceilidh and we are looking for three musicians who play Indian folk music to join this project alongside three young folk musicians who are alumni of the National Youth Folk Ensemble.
You must be 18–25 to apply to join this project and it is a paid music learning opportunity.
Dates: 15 & 16 June and 2 November 2024.
Application deadline: 9am, 24 May 2024.
What we are looking for:
We are hoping to work with three young Indian folk musicians and three of our National Youth Folk Ensemble alumni on this project. We are looking for three skilled bhangra musicians aged 18 to 25 who are looking to get involved in a new and innovative learning project working across musical styles with the hope to create a joyful and new musical and dance collaborative experience.
You must live and have the right to work in England to be eligible for these learning roles.
Fee
Each musician will be paid a trainee fee of £105.20 (per 8-hour day) with travel and accommodation costs covered too. EFDSS will organise accommodation where needed and all
food will also be covered via catering or a per diem.
About the English Folk Dance and Song Society
The English Folk Dance and Song Society is the national development organisation championing the folk arts at the heart of England’s rich and diverse cultural heritage.
We are a charity, a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England. We are based at our folk arts venue Ceil Sharp House in Camden, London which is also home to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
We run an Artists’ Development programme and an extensive learning programme with young people, adults, and families, and have a strong commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The project is being funded as part of the National Youth Folk Ensemble’s Engagement Programme – you can read more about this below.
Bhangra Ceilidh Project
We are currently developing a new project based on the concept of a Bhangra Ceilidh. The project will be led by Kuljit Bhamra MBE (tabla player, composer, producer, and educator) working alongside Becky Price (accordionist and educator) who met whilst working with the National Youth Folk Ensemble. They are collaborating to produce an album of new bhangra ceilidh tunes which will form the core of this project.
We need all musicians to be available for all of the dates below:
Research & Development Weekend: 15 & 16 June 2024
Location: Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London NW1 7AY
The weekend will be to share learning about folk and bhangra music, learn the pieces from Kuljit and Becky, and to create the band. We will expect everyone to pick up the music quickly and be able to contribute to the creative arrangements.
Bhangra Ceilidh: 2 November 2024
Location: Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London NW1 7AY
The album will be launched at this evening, which will be a participatory social folk dance event, with dance 'spots' for dance groups e.g. bhangra troupes, morris dances etc. There will be two 'callers' working together (experts in ceilidh and bhangra dancing respectively) to call out instructions so that everyone can join in.
How to apply
To apply to join the project we would like you to send in your CV, with an example of your playing (this can be a YouTube clip/sound recording or vimeo reel etc), and a cover email telling us a little about yourself, what you play, and why you’d like to be considered for this project.
The deadline to send in this information is 24 May 2024 at 9am.
If you have any questions, please email Hannah on [email protected]
More about the National Youth Folk Ensemble
This project is linked to the engagement programme of the National Youth Folk Ensemble which is one of the 15 designated ‘National Youth Music Organisations’ (NYMOs) co-funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Education. It enables young instrumentalists aged 14–18 throughout England to create and perform inspiring new arrangements of folk music.
Alongside our Ensemble of 20-25 young musicians from across England, we run an Engagement programme working with music hubs, schools, and cultural organisation across England, including our Folk Experience Days, and a programme of activity for our alumni of the Ensemble aged 19-25 years.
Lead Artists
Kuljit Bhamra MBE Hon DMus is an award-winning composer, record producer and tabla player. He is best known as one of the record producers who pioneered the British Bhangra sound and for his many collaborations with musicians from different genres and continents.
Kuljit has worked collaboratively and individually on numerous Hollywood film scores, West End musicals and well over 2000 recordings. Passionate about bringing the joys of playing Indian instruments to everybody, Kuljit’s mission is to democratise Indian drumming. He is currently Professor of Tabla, Indian Rhythm & Improvisation at Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. Kuljit has worked extensively with EFDSS and the National Youth Folk Ensemble since 2019; most recently in February 2024 when he worked with the Ensemble on a creative arrangement of ‘Teri Meri’ one of his bhangra compositions. keda.co.uk/who-we-are
Becky Price: In January 2023, Becky unexpectedly became a church organist & then in 2024, even more unexpectedly found herself starting and running a community choir. For 30 years before that she had been a traditional dance musician and music educator, specialising in French and English music. Her dad bought her an accordion in 1978 but it was so huge she couldn’t see over the top of it, and she wasn’t inspired to pick one up until 1993 by which time she’d done a music degree, decided she didn’t want to be a concert pianist and wanted to play something smaller that she could take to the pub! She taught herself, developing a distinctive style, influenced by melodeon players, Baroque organ music and the hurdy-gurdy playing of Nigel Eaton. She played with Finality Jack in the 1990s, then formed Boldwood in 2003 to play English dance music. She has also played for Cotswold and Northwest morris dancing, worked with Karen Tweed, Hannah James, various members of Blowzabella, Rob Harbron, Sam Sweeney and Miranda Rutter and played in hundreds of care homes for older people.
Teaching has been a significant part of her musical life since 1993 and she has been a Guest Tutor for the National Youth Folk Ensemble from the very start. By early 2023, Boldwood had split, and Becky, no longer in a band, was ready for new musical horizons. And then, via the National Youth Folk Ensemble, she met Kuljit Bhamra...
Useful Links
Tunes and Groove in Folk and Bhangra – our online learning resource developed in partnership with Kent Music
Folk Discovery – a larger cross-cultural folk project that EFDSS is developing, based on R&D run in 2019.
If you have any questions, please email Hannah on [email protected]
