Folkworks

thumb|right|250px|Alisdair Anderson putting a group of Folkworks participants through their paces.

Folkworks is a non-profit organisation based at The Sage Gateshead and a part of the North Music Trust. It runs many workshops, summer schools and festivals to promote and encourage the furtherance of folk music. It was begun in 1988 by Alisdair Anderson and Ros Rigby and became part of the North Music Trust and The Sage Gateshead in 2002. As such, Folkworks no longer continues to exist as a separate entity, as it is now a part of the North Music Trust and based in The Sage Gateshead.

Folk and Traditional Music degree

Folkworks was instrumental in the creation of the first university degree in Folk and Traditional Music and still plays a crucial part in its running at the University of Newcastle, under the stewardship of Dr Vic Gammon.

Summer Schools

Folkworks is perhaps best known for the organisation of a series of summer schools run in Durham, usually during August. Initially run for young people, a second event for adults was later created. The youth summer school has in previous years been held at the College of St Hild and St Bede, part of the University of Durham. Typically, a pupil at the summer schools receives two main types of teaching: instrumental tuition on his or her chosen instrument (or voice) as well as an ensemble group. The ensemble groups present performances to their peers and a public audience at the end of the week's workshops. Typically, a showcase concert featuring ensembles from both the youth and adult summer schools is put on at the Gala Theatre.

The youth summer school has become renowned as a meeting place for young folk musicians, and bands including 422, Kerfuffle and Last Orders have met at or attended the event.

BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award

Until 2005, Folkworks, in partnership with production company Smooth Operations, was responsible for the organisation of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, a competition funded by the BBC and associated with Mike Harding's folk programme. For most of its history, the semifinals of this competition were held at Kendal Youth Hostel and the Brewery Arts Centre, and the finals at the Union Chapel, Islington. However, upon completion of The Sage Gateshead, Folkworks moved the finals there for the 2005 event. This would prove to be the last time Folkworks ran the competition.

External links

* [http://thesagegateshead.org The Sage Gateshead]
* [http://www.asaplive.com/FARNE/FolkworksCommunity.cfm FARNE Official Folkworks Community]