The National Youth Folk Ensemble already has some exciting achievements under its belt. In their first six months, they have taken part in two residential courses with some of the biggest names on the folk music scene, and given their first public performance supporting Leveret at The Met in Bury. April will see them perform their first headline concert at Cecil Sharp House, followed by appearances at Guildhall Theatre, Derby, and Shrewsbury Folk Festival in the summer.
Confident players of any instrument between the ages of 14-18 are invited to come along to one of eight Sampler Days taking place across England in May and June 2017. The Sampler Days will include creative workshops with Artistic Director Sam Sweeney (Bellowhead, Leveret, Eliza Carthy & the Wayward Band) plus music leaders Rob Harbron (Leveret, English Acoustic Collective) and Miranda Rutter (Methera, English Acoustic Collective).
"I absolutely loved this experience and it was very empowering playing with others, playing traditional English tunes but making them our own."
Sampler Day participant
The Sampler Days will also include short individual auditions and a Q & A with Ensemble staff. Young musicians who meet the criteria but don’t wish to audition for the Ensemble are welcome to take part in the workshops to find out about the project, learn about English folk music and play in a band for the day.
The National Youth Folk Ensemble is an English Folk Dance and Song Society programme supported by Arts Council England.
