We hope you’ll join us to support the next generation of folk musicians!
Hosted by the EFDSS Youth Forum, the event begins with free Twilight Sessions at 4.30pm – a dynamic mix of pre-concert music, song and dance activities for young people. We’ll enjoy floor spot performances from Tri-borough Folk Ensemble and Musiko Musika’s ECCO band during our energetic ceilidh!
In The Takeover evening concert we’re excited to be welcoming friends from the West Midlands and North East to London. Folkestra is a vibrant group of young folk musicians based at Sage Gateshead, playing original music and new arrangements with director Ian Stephenson, a highly regarded musician and composer. Shropshire Youth Folk Ensemble, run in partnership between Ray Langton Music and Shropshire Music Service, is a non-auditioned ensemble providing young musicians aged 10-18 years the opportunity to play folk music together. They will be joined by Cecil Sharp House’s resident band, EFDSS’ London Youth Folk Ensemble, led by Emily Askew and Ruairi Glasheen, and Centre for Young Musicians Folk Ensemble, led this year by Tom Newell. A musical finale for all participating artists, led by the musicians in EFDSS’ Youth Forum, will bring the night to a close.
Music educators may also be interested in attending a Running a Youth Folk Ensemble professional development day led by the National Youth Folk Ensemble creative team, which will be held the day before at Cecil Sharp House.
Performer biographies
Musiko Musika’s ECCO Band (Twilight Sessions, 4.30pm)
The overall aim of the ECCO (Ethnic Contemporary Classical Orchestras) is to catalyse and inspire social change and creative engagement with cultural diversity, giving artistic expression to families and communities. Established by Musiko Musika in 2009, and based at the Lyric Hammersmith the ECCO is a project to create youth music ensembles that reflect the diversity and musical interests of the young players and their families. Rooted in, but not constrained by tradition, the ECCO project is based on the concept of a classical orchestra but reaches far beyond it in terms of instrumentation, repertoire and approach.
Tri-borough Folk Ensemble (Twilight Sessions, 4.30pm)
The Tri-borough Folk Ensemble is an exciting group of young instrumentalists from the Tri-borough area. The group performs a thrilling fusion of folk and traditional music from all around the world which is developed and devised collaboratively. Under the direction of Ruairi Glasheen, the ensemble have already performed at the Lyric Hammersmith, the Royal College of Music and the Royal Albert Hall, with future plans to perform at the new Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith. The group is completely inclusive and welcomes a wide range of instrumentalists and experience levels.
Folkestra (The Takeover, 7pm)
Folkestra is a vibrant group of young folk musicians based at Sage Gateshead, playing original music and new arrangements with director Ian Stephenson, a highly regarded musician and composer, known for his playing in bands such as Kan, Baltic Crossing and 422. They perform around the country, most recently at the Scots Fiddle Festival in Edinburgh, and Rothbury Traditional Music Festival, as well as on our main stages at Sage Gateshead. Folkestra rehearse fortnightly on Sunday afternoons during term time at Sage Gateshead and the band enjoys performing in various concerts and festivals throughout the year with a residential weekend at the beginning of the year, and a further residential in February half term.
Set up by EFDSS in 2013, the London Youth Folk Ensemble is a group of committed young musicians with a passion for playing and performing folk music. Meeting regularly at Cecil Sharp House, the Ensemble works with professional folk musicians to create and perform folk music from Britain and beyond. LYFE members play as a whole ensemble, exploring and arranging traditional folk repertoire; develop their performance style and presentation; work in small groups on their own material; develop skills in playing music for dancing; and learn about the history and culture of folk music. The Ensemble is led by folk musician Emily Askew with Ruairi Glasheen, and recently they have been enjoying collaborations with Kinetika Bloco and New Camden Jazz Ensemble.
Shropshire Youth Folk Ensemble
Shropshire Youth Folk Ensemble is a non-auditioned ensemble providing young musicians aged 10-18 years the opportunity to play folk music together. They enjoy termly performing opportunities, which have included Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Shrewsbury Theatre Severn and Music for Youth Festival, plus workshops from musicians such as John Kirkpatrick and Jo May. They enjoy playing a mix of traditional and contemporary folk music from England, Scotland, Wales and further afield. SYFE is led by Ray Langton and run in partnership between Ray Langton Music and Shropshire Music Service.
Centre for Young Musicians has two Folk Ensembles, run in partnership with the English Folk Dance and Song Society and supported by the The Brook Trust. They are open to both CYM students and to school-aged students from across London who do not attend the full CYM programme. The ensembles take place on Saturday afternoons, 2–3pm (for young people aged 11–14) and 3.15–4.15pm (for young people aged 15–18).
