The ceilidh (or folk dance) starts at 7.30pm, and promises to be an evening of fun and dancing for all the family. All dances are explained, and no experience is necessary – and you do not have to dress up!
Rough Music was established by Wren Music almost ten years ago, and is based in Devon, in the south west of England. It has grown to over thirty members playing a wide range of instruments. Their repertoire ranges from Devon step dances, through Breton airs, to Swedish polkas, with much more in between. Over the years they have drawn appreciative audiences at concerts and dances across Devon, as well as at the Sidmouth and Baring-Gould Folk Festivals, and in Brittany.
Tickets will be available on the door at £10 for adults and £5 for children, and include food and light refreshments, and people are invited to bring their own alcoholic drinks if they wish.
Tickets can be reserved in advance by calling Roz on 01873 812635.
Proceeds from the concert will go towards the work of Wren Music and Tools For Self Reliance Cymru www.tfsrcymru.org.uk
Spring In Harmony concert
Wednesday 20th May 2010, 7.00 – 8.30pm
Fairplace Church Fairplace, Okehampton EX20 1DN
A concert for all the family with the community music and song group Okehampton Song Tales, plus singers from three of Devon’s finest young folk ensembles - Campus Choir, SoX, and Okehampton Youth Chorus - with songs and music from Devon, from England and around the world.
Family ticket £15 (2 adults & up to 3 kids or 1 adult & up to 4 kids)
Single £6 / £4.50 concessions / £3 under 16s / under 5s free
Tickets available in advance from Wren Music office or telephone 01837 53754 to reserve.
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Folk In Harmony concert
Thursday 26th May 2010, 7.30 – 9.30pm
Clifford Room, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter EX1 1SN
A concert for all the family featuring the Exeter-based community folk choir Voices In Common, the East Devon Folk Orchestra Rough Music, plus singers from three of Devon’s finest young folk ensembles - Campus Choir, SoX, and Okehampton Youth Chorus - with songs and music from Devon, from England and around the world.
Family ticket £15 (2 adults & up to 3 kids or 1 adult & up to 4 kids)
Single £6 / £4.50 concessions / £3 under 16s / under 5s free
Tickets available in advance from Wren Music office or telephone 01837 53754 to reserve.
Wren Music presents an exciting concert of traditional and contemporary folk music featuring four of the UK's finest players of bowed strings. Pete Cooper & Richard Bolton Described by fRoots magazine as "a one-man fiddle inspiration industry", Pete Cooper plays, teaches, composes, records and writes about fiddle music, and has been at the forefront of the British folk scene for over thirty years. His unusual fluency in different styles - English, Irish, Scottish, Old Time, Swedish, Eastern European - has been described as ‘chameleon-like’. He travels all over the country to teach and perform, and has also made recent trips to China, India, and Japan.
Pete is well known for his work with Rattle On The Stovepipe, specialising in British and Appalachian songs, ballads and tunes, and his duo with cello and guitar-player Richard Bolton has performed at the Oxford, Warwick and Cheltenham folk festivals, and recorded two much admired CDs.
A firm believer in lifelong learning, Pete has run regular fiddle courses since the mid-1980s, is the man behind the London Fiddle School and the London Fiddle Convention, now in its 19th year. He has written the regular Fiddle Corner column in FiddleOn magazine since it began in 2000, covering a multitude of subjects, and has also written for fRoots, Musical Traditions, Music Teacher and The Strad magazines, as well as producing extensive Study Notes for all the Wigmore Hall Fiddle Days.
Nick Wyke & Becki Driscoll Nick Wyke & Becki Driscoll are highly respected musicians, composers and workshop leaders from North Devon. They first collaborated as a fiddle duo on a busking trip around Spain and Portugal. Since then, they have made a strong impact on the British folk scene and received national and international radio play. Their passion for English traditional music and the violin has led to the development of their unique style. Becki's melodic, emotive violin and viola blend with Nick's driving fiddle chords and powerful vocals to create a rich, captivating sound.
"...lovely, inventive playing" - fRoots
The duo's compositions and their interpretations of traditional English tunes and songs are influenced by a wide range of musical cultures: "We are inspired by the people we meet and the places we've been. We like the idea of a global approach to the English tradition."
" ...passionate musicality and distinctive presence" The Living Tradition
As well as performing, Nick & Becki's work varies from recording symphonic string arrangements for the Angel Brothers to running community group ´The Folk Orchestra of North Devon´ for Wren Music.
"...a superb advert for English music" the Folk Mag
Daytime workshops
Fairplace Church School Room, Mill Road Okehampton Devon EX20 1DN
In addition to the evening concert, there are daytime workshops with Pete & Richard, and with Nick & Becki. These workshops will be suitable for musicians with basic skill levels onwards - ie able to play several tunes, know one's way round the instrument, and some knowledge of note names, written music, and chord symbols. Handouts and scores, etc, will be provided.
The morning workshops, from 10.00am to 1.00pm are for fiddlers and cellists, and will concentrate on developing technique, skills and understanding.
The afternoon workshops, from 2.00 to 5.30pm, are for all instruments (nb suitable for D / G ) - not just bowed ones. Pete & Richard will be sharing the American Old Time Fiddle music repertoire, and Nick & Becki will focus on Westcountry and English music
Advance booking is advisable to ensure your place - call 01837 53754 or email
Workshops only £15 / £10 concessions for each of morning or afternoon
Concert & workshops £35 / £23 concessions
Last Sunday – now at a new venue
The informal evenings of folk songs and music will be at the Fountain Hotel, Fore Street, Okehampton, Devon EX20 1AP, from 8 to 11pm on the last Sunday of the month. Confirmed dates for 2010 so far are 31st January, 28th February, 28th March, 25th April, 30th May and 27th June.These Last Sunday club nights present a lovely environment to come along and enjoy some real live folk songs and acoustic music. The folk club will be held in the comfortable restaurant side of the Fountain Hotel, well away from any bar noise, so it will allow everyone to hear clearly, without the need for amplification.
Each evening will feature short performances by professional singers and musicians from Wren Music, along with guest artists from far or near. There will always be something you can sing along to or join in with (although that's not compulsory).
Singers and musicians are always welcome too, whether amateurs taking their first steps in singing in public or seasoned professional. There will be opportunities for them to perform floor spots, and people wishing to take their turn are asked to introduce themselves to the organisers on arrival, or to pre-book their spot by calling Wren Music on 01837 53754 or emailing marilyn@wrenmusic.co.uk
Entry to Last Sunday events is free, as we want to give as many people as possible the chance to find out for themselves how nice it is to have a night out with folk.
There will be a collection during each evening to help support Wren Music's year-round programme of music development activities in communities and schools throughout Devon and beyond, involving over 30,000 participants of all ages each year.
© Wren Music 2010
