The National Youth Folk Ensemble celebrates excellence in youth folk music, bringing together talented young folk musicians from across England to create and perform inspiring new arrangements of folk music and work with leading folk artists.
With young musicians at the heart of the programme, the National Youth Folk Ensemble aims to nurture their talents, aspirations and creativity, enabling them to develop into the folk performers, educators and leaders of the future.
These talented musicians receive expert tuition and guidance from SamPartridge, Artistic Director from October 2019, and a team of leading folk artist-educators.
Hear the Ensemble live in 2020
Friday 21 February
Music Room, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Wednesday 8 April
Cecil Sharp House, London
Thursday 9 April
Southbank Centre, London
Friday 21 August
Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, Dorset
Sunday 23 August
FolkEast, Suffolk
The National Youth Folk Ensemble:
- takes talented young folk musicians from across England
- has up to 25 players
- is open to young people aged 14–18
- is open to any instrument
- focuses mainly on instrumental music, with song and dance included as elements of the programme
- has a significant focus on English traditional folk music, reflecting its regional variety, complemented by folk music from wider Britain and beyond
- includes newly devised and composed music drawing from the tradition
- offers membership on an annual basis via audition · meets for residential courses, rehearsals and performances at various locations across England
- aims to complement, build on and help link existing youth folk music provision
- seeks positive relationships with similar youth folk music ensembles in the other nations of the UK and, in time, beyond.
The standard was excellent – their musicianship, stage presence, performance skills and enthusiasm made it an evening to remember for a long time
Songlines, June 2018
Longer-term development plans (requiring additional funding) include:
- extension opportunities for 19–25 year olds who have 'graduated' from the ensemble
- an engagement programme that will help foster the growth of local and regional youth folk music ensembles, courses etc., particularly where there is currently little provision.
