The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) is seeking an inaugural Artistic Director for the new National Youth Folk Ensemble. The Artistic Director will lead on the artistic vision of the Ensemble and work with EFDSS’ Education department to shape the programme in its first year.
Click here to download the recruitment pack and application form
The successful candidate will be an exceptional folk music performer and educator who can inspire and nurture talented young musicians, helping them to explore their creativity and develop their performance, arrangement and leadership skills. The Artistic Director will devise content for the residential courses, working with a team of folk music leaders and the young participants to co-create musical arrangements for the National Youth Folk Ensemble to perform.
Rachel Elliott, EFDSS Education Director, explains:
“We are delighted to be taking this important step in the development of the National Youth Folk Ensemble. We’re hoping to attract a high profile folk musician who is passionate about collaborating with young musicians to create an exciting new repertoire with English traditional music at its heart”.
The National Youth Folk Ensemble will bring together up to 25 talented young folk musicians from across England to work with leading folk artists at intensive residential courses in the school holidays. The project aims to celebrate excellence in youth folk music, increase opportunities for young people and audiences to discover folk music, enable coherent progression routes in folk music and raise the profile of folk music in England through high quality performance and learning experiences.
Following the appointment of the Artistic Director, recruitment will begin for the first cohort of the National Youth Folk Ensemble which is due to start in October 2016. Keep up to date about developments at www.efdss.org/nationalyouthfolkensemble or by signing up for our Education newsletter here.
The National Youth Folk Ensemble is supported by Arts Council England, as part of EFDSS’ National Portfolio Organisation funding agreement 2015 – 2018.
