Music for You
Summer School 2012
is sponsored by

Folk Course

Course Director - Stewart Hardy

Monday 13th - Wednesday 15th August 2012

2012 Tutors

Stewart Hardy - Fiddle
Jo Freya - Sax & Wind Instruments
Karen Tweed - Accordion
Kevin Dempsey - Guitar
Pete Furnish - Bass
Yvette Staelens - Folk Singer
Carolyn Robson - Folk Singer
Kerry Fletcher - Traditional Dance

We are pleased to announce an exciting new folk course for the 2012 season of summer courses.

Directed by Stewart hardy, one of the UK's foremost folk fiddle players, this course is a must for any folk enthusiast. During the three day course Stewart will be joined by multi instrumentalist Jo Freya, vocalists Carolyn Robson and Yvette Staelens, bassist Pete Furnish, traditional dancer Kerry Fletcher and other guest artists. In the evening listen to the tutors perform, play with other folk musicians, enjoy our evening gala concerts and join others at the ceilidhs.

At Music for You we aim to give you a unique combination of concerts, workshop, ceilidhs, and sessions, hosted by first class tutors and attended by like minded people. Explore the routed of folk, work in small ensembles, and enhance your love for this genre of music.

Wether you are a novice, an experienced fiolk musicians, or simply just love to observe others, then this course has something to offer. At Music for You we encourage both adults and children to enjoy music and develop their talents in a relaxed and informative manner.

The course is set in the beautiful surroundings of the Bedfordshire counrtyside in the grounds of a quintessentially English Estate. Facilities include spacious rehearsal rooms, single en suite accommodation, budget rooms, limited family rooms, a licensed bar and children's facilities. Alternatively the village of Old Warden offers a range of pubs, camp sites and B & B accommodation.

Musicians have the option of purchasing a day ticket or a 3 day ticket. Individual sessions or gala concert tickets can be purchased either in advance by phone or email or purchased on the door.

Camping is available in The Mansion House grounds and can be booked direct with the Mansion House on 01767 626200. Camping prices can be found on the prices page.

We are sure you will enjoy evey minute of this exciting new folk course with some of the country's most well known folk musicians as tutors. We have no doubt that this course will further enhance your enjoyment of folk music. We look forward to seeing you in August!

Stewart Hardy - Course Director

Stewart Hardy lives in the North East of England and has been professional musician since 1988. For fifteen years his career was based around performance, touring with many bands all over the world playing traditional folk, pop, rock, jazz, country and western swing music, whilst also working as a session musician, both on stage and in the recording studio. He is a respected teacher and composer. His compositions have featured on both radio and television. For the past eight years he has been a core tutor on the Folk Degree at Newcastle University, whist continuing involvement with numerous national and international projects.

As well as guesting on many CDs Stewart has released a solo CD, Tod’s Assembly, and two CDs with musical and production partner, Frank McLaughlin, "Compass" and "Root 2", all to much critical acclaim. He has also published a tutorial book, "Secrets of Jigs - Tips and Technique for Fiddle", which has been welcomed by both teachers and students.

Jo Freya - Course Tutor

Jo Freya is a dynamic performer and composer, singing and playing a variety of instruments including Saxophones, clarinets, traditional whistles and piano. She plays with headlining acts such as her 'Freya Abbott and Ferguson' (Trio with Jude and Neil from Chumbwamba), 'Blowzabella' and 'Coope ,Boyes and Simpson, Fraser, Freya, Boyes' in their work with author Michael Morpergo. Whilst steeped in the knowledge of traditional European music Jo also composes songs and instrumentals for bands and uses her musical knowledge to compose for film, theatre and community projects. She creates 'Haunting and melodic memorable melodies' journalist Ken Hunt described her Lal project as "'A' for Art" and contemporary composer Judith Weir says "Jo Freya has musical range and knowledge (all the way through all kinds of contemporary music) to make things happen". The best thing about Jo is that she simply does not fit neatly into any boxes you might want to squash her in to. Recent workshop participants in Darlington described her as 'ultimately professional, entertaining and delivering in her own unique style', 'I laughed a lot and learnt some brilliant music'.

Highlights
As part of 'Scarp' Jo won the French National Gold Music Award for world music. She has sung and sings with CBS as part of shows with Michael Morpergo (author of 'War Horse' working alongside Joanna Lumley, Julliette Stevenson and Jenny Agutter). These shows were in Southwark, Guildford and Christchurch cathedrals as well as the National Theatre and there are more this year. Blowzabella continue to perform internationally and Freya Abbott Ferguson have received exclusively great reviews for their Cd 'Get Well Soon' and their incomparable live performance.

Pete Furnish

Pete has always enjoyed a wide range of music from Pop to Classical.

In the 1960s he was busy doing TV, Radio, recording and touring with a Scottish Folk Group "The Islanders". Although he has played in dance bands, groups and trad jazz bands, an introduction to Modern Jazz in the 1980s required him to deepen his understanding of Modes and Harmonic Structure. Summer Schools played an important part in this and the idea that Jazz could be taught lead Pete to gain a City & Guilds qualification in Teaching Adults. Pete plays bass with AJ's Big Band and Jazz Trilogy based in Devon. He enjoys the variety offered by playing in other bands on a freelance basis and also plays in a local amateur symphony orchestra.

Kerry Fletcher - Traditional Dance Tutor

Kerry Fletcher is a traditional dancer of many styles, from waltzing to clogging. She is an experienced dance workshop leader and an accomplished performer. She just loves to work with those new to dance and, in particular, to encourage musicians to experience the joys of dancing!

She works as a community folk dance artist specialising in British, European and American dance, both percussive and social, working with organisations such as the English Folk Dance & Song Society and East London Dance. Kerry is also a choreographer and performer and is interested in finding new ways of exploring, creating and performing traditional material, drawing on and working with other music and dance forms.

Currently, she performs with JigJaw, an acapella quartet of vocal harmony and percussive dance - singing for dancing and dancing for singing. JigJaw sing for social dances and perform in concert at folk clubs and festivals such as The South Bank Centre, Towersey Village Festival and the Thames Festival. She has performed with; The 4K Plot at Baltic (with Karen Wimhurst, Karen Tweed & Keith MacIntyre), Karen Tweed's ensemble Circa Compania at The Sage Gateshead, Stepback at the South Bank Centre, and with Broken Ankles, acclaimed Appalachian clogging company, performing at festivals such as Sidmouth and Towersey and at venues such as The Dome, Brighton.

She is a visiting lecturer on the folk music degree course at Newcastle University and for several years she has been a tutor on the Folkworks Summer Schools. As well as running her own community dance workshops, she in demand as a dance teacher at festivals & dance clubs all over the country.

Carolyn Robson - Folk Singer

Carolyn Robson is a professional singer and musician specialising in traditional folk song and dance. Her extensive repertoire consists mainly of songs from her native Northumberland and Scotland as well as from other parts of the British Isles. Carolyn has a wealth of singing and teaching experience and has made countless club and festival appearances, featuring in HTV's 2004 documentary on Cecil Sharp. She runs two community choirs in Hampshire and has run workshops with other choirs nationwide.

She is a member of the a cappella trio Craig Morgan Robson and is now widely recognised as one of country's finest female singers.

Yvette Staelens - Folk Singer

Yvette Staelens is an established folk performer, community musician and academic researcher. Her performing life started when she was chosed to represent Calton Road Infoants School at a County Schools concert in Gloucester Guildhall at the age of 6, playing jeremiah Clarke's 'Trumpet Voluntary' on the chime bars! Inspired by her singing mother who was raised in Thaxted in Essex, then, as now, a centre for Morris Dance and music, Yvette has worked professionally in the workd of traditional music since the 1980's initially performing and recording traditional and contemporary folk and acoustic music with Roots Quartet. She developed and performed 'Somerset Sister', a show celebrating Cecil Sharp's collecting in the county and has appeared on BBC Songs of Praise in the UK and Australia, BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour, and at the International Folk Music Convention in Nashville.

Yvette is a trained natural voice practitioner who specialises in harmony singing and believes that everyone can sing. She directs the 'Voice of the people' community choirs and has recently started the Halsway Manor Morning Choir at the national Centre for Folk Arts in Somerset. She is regularly invited to lead harmony singing workshops aroung the country. Yvettte has taught calsses on 'English Folk Song' annually at the Tribe of Doris Intercultural Summer School since 2002 and co-directs the 'Building bridges' community choir at Dartington with Zimbabwean Mbira master Chartwell Dutiro. Her academic reserch on 'The Singing Landscape', undertaken as Senior Lecturer at bournemouth University, has led to the publication of Folk Maps Somerset, Gloucestershire and hampshire and she has published on Cecil Sharp's collecting in academic journals and most recently in The Guardian. Her research intersts span intangible cultural heritage and she has lectured extensively in Cecil Sharp and folk at conferences and universities in, amonst other places, Taiwan, New Zealand, Nashville (USA), The Azores, Evora, Tomar (Portugal), Kyle of Lochalsh (Scotland), Amsterdam, Latvia, Society of Antiquaries London and York Early Music Centre. Yvette will be giving the Christmas Lecture at the Wallace Collection in London in 2012.

Karen Tweed - Accordion

Born in London in the early 1960s to an Irish mother, and English father, Karen's upbringing was steeped in music, so it was no surprise when she took up the piano accordion at the age of eleven. Having been voted the All Ireland Accordion champion on five occasions Karen finally turned professional in the late 1980s and has risen to become one of the leading lights on both the UK and International folk scenes.

She's appeared on over 30 albums so far and the list of artists she's worked with reads like a who's who of the late 20th Century and early 21st Century contemporary folk circuit. From her early days with the Kathryn Tickell band, to being a founding member of the pioneering all female Poozies, through to scintillating Anglo Scandinavian outfit Swåp and on to recent collaborations with American musicians Stuart Kenney and Marco Packard as Undertoe and the exhilarating and enchanting Circa Compania an all-female 14-piece all-singing, all-dancing tour-de-force, Karen's haunting and versatile playing has enhanced the sound of many a fine band. Likewise, her duo work with Ian Carr, Andy Cutting, Roger Wilson and John Dipper has left many an audience mesmerised and marvelling at her breathtaking musicianship. Current duo collaborations include singers Jackie Oates, Kevin Dempsey & Johnny Coppin. She's in the trio Hell Said the Duchess with Hannah James and Becky Price and has brought together accordion girls from all over the UK in the No1 ladies Accordion Orchestra.

Karen's teaming up with highly respected Finnish Pianist Timo Alakotila, to form May Monday led to phenomenal praise and accolades for their artistic grace, beauty and breaking down of musical barriers. Their second album Midnight May Monday is out now, something that will excite, and enthral their legions of fans worldwide.

However, it is not just as a deft and dexterous musician she is sought after; she is equally in demand as a teacher of the accordion on university courses, workshops, master-classes and individual tuition. As a teacher she's proved to be inspirational and encouraging as she seeks to bring out and develop the performing, improvising and composing skills of many a budding musician. Her knowledge and openness in relation to broadening repertoires and improving styles, technique and performance is second to none; she's a true role model for many an aspiring accordionist. She's also written and edited two accordion tutorials.

A complete professional, yet approachable and likeable musician her effervescent playing reflects her wide and varied personal musical tastes. She moves with ease from emotive and soulful melodies to vibrant, dynamic and occasionally wonky and offbeat accordion lines. Her musical approach is informed by tradition yet crucially breaks convention and takes acoustic music into a new realm!

"What Tweed has done is further liberate the piano accordion from the oompah band stereotypes and demonstrate the instrument's full melodicism." Irish Echo Her new solo CD Essentially Invisible to the Eye produced by the amazing American musician Bruce Molsky is due to be released in the UK in early 2012 … watch this space!