NEFS Winter Residential 2023

NEFS Residential WeekendFri 1st Dec, 5pm – Sun 3rd Dec, 11.30 amShepherds Dene Retreat Centre After enjoying the December residential weekend last year, and with all the lovely feedback received, we have decided to repeat the event. We are delighted to be returning to Shepherds Dene Retreat Centre near Riding Mill in Northumberland and look…


NEFS Summer Workshop Weekend

NEFS Summer Workshop WeekendSaturday 8th and Sunday 9th July 2023 We are delighted to announce that Grace Smith will be teaching alongside Stewart Hardy for this weekend, and the wonderful Frank McLaughlin will be coming down from Edinburgh with his guitar to join Stewart for an informal concert & session on the Saturday evening. The…


JSArts courses for 2022

We have begun the year in great style, with a delightful Arrangement Techniques course in February, and a very productive and enjoyable Fiddle Technique course in March, both at the beautiful Rydal Hall. Next we have an Advanced Fiddle Technique course, which is an intensive course designed to further improve the technique of already proficient…


May Workshops 2021

The weekend workshops that have been running every couple of months or so have been very enjoyable, and as we can’t quite run workshops in person yet they are a great way to continue playing and learning. Friday’s evening play-along session is open to all instruments, and the notation (with harmony and chord suggestions) and…


March Workshops

It’s March already! More workshops are on their way – a lovely relaxed and steady session on Fri 26th Mar in the evening, with notation provided (including harmonies and chord suggestions) and suitable for all instruments.Then two fiddle workshops on Sat 27th Mar will be aimed at slightly different ability levels, but both looking at…


January 2021 Workshops

And there’s more! To brighten up the winter months during lockdown and with all that’s going on in the world, here is another set of workshops. Join me on the Friday evening, 29th January, for a Play-along Session with loads of harmonies provided, and for two Fiddle Workshops on Saturday 30th Jan. These workshops are…


December Workshops

The autumn has flown by and as we head towards a further lockdown I thought it would be nice to have some more workshops to look forward to. The feedback from the October workshops was very positive, and so we will repeat the format, with a Play-along Session in Harmony on the Friday evening, and…


October Workshops

As we are unable to run our lovely residential weekends at the moment, I thought a few workshops might be welcomed! It will certainly be lovely to see some happy faces taking part on Zoom! The Friday evening Play-along session on 2nd October is open to all instruments. I’ll play the tune through your headphones,…


July Fiddle Workshops

I am excited to annouce that there will be three online Fiddle Workshops on 25th and 26th July, open to all intermediate & advanced fiddle players. Drawing on what we have learned in various group workshops during lockdown these workshops will be held on Zoom, focusing on three fabulous tunes associated with the North East….


37th Annual Glenties Fiddlers Weekend

Graham Dixon continues to be a great ambassador for the fiddle music of North East England. His books on Robert Whinham and James Hill are among my favourites and I would recommend them to anybody. He is also a lovely, lovely man. So when he asked me to play some of James Hill’s tunes to…