An opportunity for young musicians from the South West and beyond to work with leading folk artists, to develop skills, confidence and creativity, and create a new performance piece.
We’re delighted that Becki Driscoll’s is back as our Creative Lead for 2024, and joining her will be our brilliant professional musician-tutors Archie Churchill-Moss, Matt Norman, and Rosie Butler-Hall, with Kerrie Seymour also returning as Pastoral Lead.
We’ll be providing an immersive week of music, creativity and fun, in the beautiful and peaceful surroundings of Halsway Manor. It will be intensive and challenging, but also supportive and fun! Young musicians will spend the week working together to learn, arrange and rehearse new repertoire, developing musical skills and performance technique, and creating their own interpretations of traditional material. The group will live, work and play together, with opportunities for informal rehearsals and social gatherings to enrich their experience and understanding of the folk arts.
The week will end with performances at Sidmouth Folk Week! Participants will need to make their own arrangements to get to Sidmouth.
Who is it for?
This is an intensive but fun course for young people aged 12-18.
You’ll need to have prior experience as a musician, and some prior experience of folk, perhaps in a school folk band or previous courses at Halsway, and you should be working at a playing level of at least grade 4 and upwards.
Any acoustic instrument is welcome. If your main instrument is piano, you’ll need to bring a digital keyboard and stand with you, and be prepared to take it to Sidmouth as well.
We’ll be teaching predominantly by ear, so if you’re used to reading music you’ll need to be happy to give that a go! It’s important that you want to be creative, work collaboratively with others, and have fun creating a performance that everybody can be proud of.
How to Apply
To take part in the 2024 Intermediate course, please complete this application form. Places are limited, and will be allocated based on playing level and experience. If you’re not quite ready for our Intermediate course yet, consider whether our Young Folk Intro might help you gain a bit more experience.
We may be able to offer a small number of partial bursaries to those for whom cost is a barrier to attending. If you wish to discuss this, please contact Crispian Cook on [email protected]