Performances
I enjoy performing and talking about ballads and have experience in speaking to a variety of groups. From smaller, community interest groups to American conferences. My repertoire covers themes such as Lancashire dialect, Peterloo, mills, collieries, factories, canals and clogging.
Singing Sessions
I co-led a singing session in Nelson, teaching Shapenote and mill songs to a dedicated group. I enjoy teaching mill songs to local people as it puts them back in touch with their heritage and reminds them of songs they used to sing or hear. I am keen to reproduce this model elsewhere, with relevant songs.
Working with School Groups
I have worked with schools up and down Lancashire, from Burnley to Fleetwood, from primary schools to high schools. Working with Lancashire County Council, I delivered sessions to different classes of children based around the Industrial Revolution in Lancashire and the events and physical items around this theme.
Workshops
I am also available to work with groups of young people over a number of sessions. The number can be changed according to your requirements. I usually need one session to introduce the group to the ballads and to find out their interests, after that we can work out a suitable timescale. At Brighter Sound we wrote three ballads around themes of independence and stereotyping over five sessions. At Wythenshawe Hall we wrote a ballad about their experiences at the Hall, culminating in a performance by a choir, led by myself. This was achieved in a weekend. I am keen to involve children and young people in Manchester's history and singing is one way of exploring their creativity.
I have also trained the Friends of Wythenshawe Hall on the Victorian wing of the building, which I researched and delivered to a group of fifteen. The sessions I offer to adults are research-based, usually on a theme; for example I have performed a response to Mary Barton in song, collated ballads that relate directly to Belle Vue and put together ballads on a mining theme.
I enjoy performing and talking about ballads and have experience in speaking to a variety of groups. From smaller, community interest groups to American conferences. My repertoire covers themes such as Lancashire dialect, Peterloo, mills, collieries, factories, canals and clogging.
Singing Sessions
I co-led a singing session in Nelson, teaching Shapenote and mill songs to a dedicated group. I enjoy teaching mill songs to local people as it puts them back in touch with their heritage and reminds them of songs they used to sing or hear. I am keen to reproduce this model elsewhere, with relevant songs.
Working with School Groups
I have worked with schools up and down Lancashire, from Burnley to Fleetwood, from primary schools to high schools. Working with Lancashire County Council, I delivered sessions to different classes of children based around the Industrial Revolution in Lancashire and the events and physical items around this theme.
Workshops
I am also available to work with groups of young people over a number of sessions. The number can be changed according to your requirements. I usually need one session to introduce the group to the ballads and to find out their interests, after that we can work out a suitable timescale. At Brighter Sound we wrote three ballads around themes of independence and stereotyping over five sessions. At Wythenshawe Hall we wrote a ballad about their experiences at the Hall, culminating in a performance by a choir, led by myself. This was achieved in a weekend. I am keen to involve children and young people in Manchester's history and singing is one way of exploring their creativity.
I have also trained the Friends of Wythenshawe Hall on the Victorian wing of the building, which I researched and delivered to a group of fifteen. The sessions I offer to adults are research-based, usually on a theme; for example I have performed a response to Mary Barton in song, collated ballads that relate directly to Belle Vue and put together ballads on a mining theme.
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