Community Projects
Tyneside Fiddle Alliance
The Tyneside Fiddle Alliance is a community of fiddlers resident in the North East of England, established in celebration of a new “golden age” of fiddle music in that region. In an area renowned for its fiddling tradition, this gathering of fiddlers is the fruit of decades of toil by key individuals within the local folk community. The huge efforts they have made have resulted in a flourishing musical environment which is now experienced on a daily basis in the concert halls and sessions of Tyneside and the surrounding area. Operating an “open door” policy, the Tyneside Fiddle Alliance welcomes fiddlers of all abilities, promoting a friendly, inclusive atmosphere in which musicians build a shared repertoire of local tunes and explore traditions from further afield. The Tyneside Fiddle Alliance now meets in St George’s Church Hall in Jesmond and meets on the first and third Thursday of the month.
Tyneside Fiddle Alliance was founded by Stewart Hardy and Hinny Pawsey with taster sessions in the autumn of 2010. From January 2011, with all four members of Bottle Bank Band leading the meetings, Stewart Hardy, Hinny Pawsey, Sophy Ball and David Jones kicked TFA off to a fantastic start. When Hinny moved away and Chloe Jones joined Bottle Band Band she also become a strong leader at TFA. Eventually Sophy had to step back from being a regular leader at TFA due to her multitude of performance and teaching commitments, but she remains a strong supporter and occasional guest tutor. In June of 2017 it had become apparent that a fourth leader at TFA would be a great help to relieve some of the pressure on the other three, and Ali Say, a TFA member since 2015, joined the team.
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Recordings
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Upcoming Events
Dec6Fri7:00 pm December 2024: Play-along Session @ Online - on ZoomDecember 2024: Play-along Session @ Online - on ZoomDec 6 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmDecember Workshops 2024 Play-along Session in Harmony for Mixed Instruments This will be a Zoom call open to intermediate players (and above) of any instrument. Notation will be provided in advance for all the tunes,...Dec7Sat10:00 am December Workshops 2024: Fiddle ... @ Online - on ZoomDecember Workshops 2024: Fiddle ... @ Online - on ZoomDec 7 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pmDecember Workshops 2024 Fiddle Workshop 1 Zoom Workshop The Shepherd and ShepherdessA joyful and very popular English Country Dance tune. Learn a tune steadily, taught phrase by phrase with detailed instruction for any useful techniques...2:00 pm December Workshops 2024: Fiddle ... @ Online - on ZoomDecember Workshops 2024: Fiddle ... @ Online - on ZoomDec 7 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pmDecember Workshops 2024 Fiddle Workshop 2 Zoom Workshop The Prussian DanceA belting jig, with a version that Stewart has from his pal and colleague, Sophy Ball. Learn a tune steadily, taught phrase by phrase with...Feb9Sun7:00 pm Phoenix Folk: An Evening with… S... @ On ZoomPhoenix Folk: An Evening with… S... @ On ZoomFeb 9 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pmIt was lovely to be asked again by Maurice and Marina of Phoenix Folk to join them for one of their “An Evening With…” sessions. Once again, I’ll be playing a short solo set and... Facebook Feed
Stewart Hardy Music is attending an event.2 days ago
Friday night is online session night! (Booking link in the comments 😊) Come along and join me for some lovely tunes, one of which will be this beauty by George Reynolds, just added to The Tune Vault.🎶 The Tune VaultIce on the Water (George Reynolds)Ice on the Water (George Reynolds) | The Tune Vault
Ice on the Water (George Reynolds)- The Tune Vault by Stewart HardyAn utterly beautiful melody to which I was first introduced by Thomas and Jo Green. It’s ...2 days ago
It has been 23 fantastic years with The Holly and Ivy road show, every single one of them cherished and thoroughly enjoyed. Xmas will be very different without Holly and Ivy. Thanks to everyone who has supported it over the years. 🎄❄️From Laura:Absolutely heartbroken to say that after 23 joyous years of performing in The Holly & Ivy Roadshow with the incredible David Oliver and Stewart Hardy, we have sadly made the decision to make this year our final year. This project is what Christmas is all about for me, getting together with good friends, singing, dancing, eating lots and lots of mince pies and sharing our traditions with the most wonderful schools who have made us feel like part of their school families every December. That feeling of walking into a school hall after a whole year has gone by, shouting "Wassail" and hearing the whole school shout it back to you will be a sound I will cherish forever.They say all good things must come to an end, this has been one of the most wonderful pieces of work I've been involved in. Thank you to all of the schools, teachers and children who have supported us over the years, we will miss you all next year.If you have tickets for the Beamish Christmas evenings, you may spot David and I, please come and say hi! (more details to follow).WASSAIL! ❤️🥹Stewart Hardy MusicThank you to St Matthew's for sharing this film x#wassail #Christmas #traditionalmusic #clogdanceVideo footage from the Holly and the Ivy 2023. Thank you to David, Lauran and Stuart for another fantastic show. ... See MoreSee Less2 weeks ago
Zoom workshops are coming up in a couple of weeks!Friday evening session - all instruments welcome. Music is provided in advance, with suggested chords and harmony lines.For the Saturday fiddle workshops, I’ll be looking at a couple of fabulous English Country Dance tunes taken from two major publishers of the mid-eighteenth century, Johnson and Rutherford. In the morning, we’ll learn the joyful and very popular, The Shepherd and Shepherdess. In the afternoon, it is the turn of a belting jig, The Prussian Dance, with a version that I have from my pal and colleague, Sophy Ball.Book now on the website 🎶🎧🎻🎹 The next set of Zoom workshops will be on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th December. Each workshop can be booked individually, and all will be available on-demand after the weekend. Book now on the website!There will be lots of favourite tunes with harmonies and chords provided for the Friday evening play-along session. All instruments are welcome, and alternate clefs or keys for transposing instruments can be provided on request.Then we will have two fabulous tunes for our fiddle workshops. Each one will be chosen to be accessible for learning on Zoom, the techniques required will be covered in detail, and the tunes will be taught phrase by phrase, with lots of repetition. Full resources including audio files and a worksheet will be provided.Visit the website for more info and bookings 😃 ... See MoreSee LessTags
30 Years Collection Bill Elliot Bottle Bank Band CD Launch Community Strings Fiddle Day Frank McLaughlin George Welch Graham Dixon Halsway Manor HISS Holly & Ivy James Hill Jimmy's Fiddle JSArts Maddison's Thread Mick West Trio Minstrelsy Morpeth Gathering North East Fiddle School Northumbrian Shop Solo TFA The Tune Vault Tyneside Fiddle Alliance