
Rachel Elliott, Education Director – overview of the programme as part of the EFDSS Education programme and national strategy
Sarah Jones, Programme Manager (National Youth Folk Ensemble) – responsible for the development and delivery of the programme
For further information please contact Sarah on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sam Sweeney, Artistic Director 2016-19
Awarded the coveted BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year 2015, Sam is an exceptional fiddle player and multi-instrumentalist who has made his performing mark through his duo with Hannah James, as a member of Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings, and most notably as a member of folk super-group Bellowhead. An exponent of English traditional music, Sam also performs with some of today’s most acclaimed English folk bands including Fay Hield and The Hurricane Party, Eliza Carthy and The Wayward Band, and founded Leveret with Andy Cutting and Rob Harbron. Sam is an experienced folk educator who has taught at Folkworks Youth Summer School, Aldeburgh Young Musicians and the English Acoustic Collective Summer School, as well as running his own fiddle workshops for advanced players.
Music Leaders:
Rob Harbron
Miranda Rutter
Jenn Butterworth
Archie Churchill-Moss
Andy Cutting
Dave Gray
Natalie Haas
Sarah Hayes
Benji Kirkpatrick
Rachel Newton
Ben Nicholls
Sam Partridge
Becky Price
Emma Reid
Saul Rose
Jack Rutter
Seth Tinsley
Peter Wiegold
Jack Healy (Pastoral Lead)
Natalie Reid
Martha Lloyd
Lucy Duff
We are fortunate to have a group of experts from the folk music and music education sectors guiding and supporting the development of the National Youth Folk Ensemble. The current members of the Advisory Working Party are:
Alistair Anderson, folk musician and founder of Folkworks
Ed Milner, Head of Music Learning, Sage Gateshead
Graeme Surtees, Head of Learning and Participation, The Stables
Katy Spicer, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, English Folk Dance and Song Society
Liza Austin Strange, Director, Fosbrook Folk Education Trust
Maia Ayling, Development Manager, Shooting Roots
Marilyn Tucker, Artistic Director/CEO, Wren Music
Philip Flood, Director, Sound Connections
Ruth Wild, Head of Instrumental and Vocal, Director of Roots Alive, ArtForms, Leeds
Sean Gregory, Director, Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning