Dec
9
Fri
My friend, Bryan Jackson and I get together whenever possible to play through his wonderful arrangements of classical and folk music. I got to know Bryan through the Monkseaton Morris Men for whom he played fiddle and danced for many years. We will be providing music for the RNLI weekly coffee morning, in the form of carols arranged by Bryan for two fiddles. All proceeds will go to the RNLI – come along and get into the festive spirit!
Mar
29
Wed
Two workshops with Stewart Hardy
Wednesdays 29th March and 12th April
These workshops will be rehearsing arrangements of tunes written by Stewart to commemorate the tricentenary of Morpeth Town Hall, for a performance at the Golden Gala Concert. All bowed string players of intermediate standard and above are welcome.
Participation £6 (one or two workshops)
School age children are free.
Golden Gala Concert, Fri 21st April
Morpeth Methodist Church, 7.30 pm
Resources (sheet music and recordings of the tunes) for those wishing to take part can be found here.
Apr
12
Wed
Two workshops with Stewart Hardy
Wednesdays 29th March and 12th April
These workshops will be rehearsing arrangements of tunes written by Stewart to commemorate the tricentenary of Morpeth Town Hall, for a performance at the Golden Gala Concert. All bowed string players of intermediate standard and above are welcome.
Participation £6 (one or two workshops)
School age children are free.
Golden Gala Concert, Fri 21st April
Morpeth Methodist Church, 7.30 pm
Apr
21
Fri
The Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering is celebrating its big 50th Anniversary this year and there is lots planned. On the Friday night there will be the Golden Gala Concert in the Methodist Church, in which I will be playing with Bottle Band Band, Tyneside Fiddle Alliance and leading the Morpeth Community Strings group in their debut performance. On the Saturday there will be the usual competitions, and I will be supporting family and friends in the fiddle classes, and might even be persuaded to enter the instrumental duos! The Tyneside Fiddle Alliance plan to defend their title in the Concert Band category and there will be many other great things going on. Do come along and support this wonderful celebration of Northumbrian traditional music, song and dance.
“An exciting three-day annual festival of street entertainment, indoor events, music, dance, craft, dialect, heritage and traditional fun – held the weekend after Easter in the medieval market town of Morpeth, 14 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The festival is a true gathering of people who come together to enjoy the traditional culture of Northumberland and the wider NE region. It features concerts, dance, crafts, battle re-enactments, dialect, stories, drama, workshops, sessions, singarounds, competitions, stalls, bellringing, orienteering, tours, walks, talks and street performances which include a young people’s pageant as part of the Saturday morning Border Cavalcade.”
Dec
10
Sun
Stewart will be holding a Youth Workshop as part of the Fiddle Day in Low Fell on Sunday 10th December 2017.
The focus will be on tunes and techniques for fiddle players, geared towards young people of around Grade 3 standard or above.
The workshop will be held at the Eve Trew School of Dance in Low Fell, and onsite car parking and good transport links are available.
Stewart will be holding a Fiddle Day in Low Fell on Sunday 10th December 2017.
The focus will be on tunes and techniques for fiddle players – popular and interesting folk tunes and the techniques required on the fiddle to help these come to life (bowing, groove, ornamentation). This workshop is aimed at intermediate and improving adult learners (not complete beginners). There is a separate Youth Workshop for young people.
The day will be taught from 11.30 am – 3 pm with a 30 min break for lunch at 1 pm. Please bring your lunch, or there is a Co-op and a Subway open on Sundays in Low Fell. Tea, coffee and juice will be provided.
If you are unable to attend for the whole day, it is possible to book for either the morning or afternoon sessions only. The workshop will be designed as a whole day, but either session will stand alone and can be booked separately (Morning 11:30 – 13:00 / Afternoon 13:30 – 15:00).
The workshop will be held at the Eve Trew School of Dance in Low Fell, and onsite car parking and good transport links are available.
Jun
10
Fri
North East Tunes: Repertoire course for Mixed Instruments
10th – 12th June 2022
Shepherds Dene, Riding Mill, Northumberland NE44 6AF
For players of all instruments of intermediate level and above, focusing on great tunes from the North East of England.
Join Stewart in the beautiful retreat venue of Shepherds Dene, for a weekend of learning tunes from the North East of England. The workshop is aimed at intermediate players of any instrument (including transposing instruments), focusing on melody tuition, and will run from 4 pm on Friday until 4 pm on Sunday afternoon. The workshops will be taught “as if by ear”, with the phrases broken down into recognisable motifs, and with enough repetition for those learning by ear. Notation will be provided and can be used as a remider after the course, or at any point for reassurance.
All tuition, resources, accommodation, food and daytime refreshments are included in the course fee. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, full worksheets of the tunes taught are provided, and any recordings from the course are sent on to you afterwards.
For further information or to express your interest in this course, please email Ali (jsarts@stewarthardy.co.uk)
**Covid-19 Update
This course will be run in accordance to our Covid-secure Music Workshop Guidelines, and is subject to any restrictions applicable at the time, and any coronavirus protocols from the venue.
Sep
15
Fri
North East Tunes: Repertoire course for Mixed Instruments
15th – 17th September 2023
Shepherds Dene, Riding Mill, Northumberland NE44 6AF
4.00 pm start and finish time.
For players of all instruments of intermediate level and above, focusing on great tunes from the North East of England.
Join Stewart in the beautiful retreat venue of Shepherds Dene, for a weekend of learning tunes from the North East of England. The workshop is aimed at intermediate players of any instrument (including transposing instruments), focusing on melody tuition, and will run from 4 pm on Friday until 4 pm on Sunday afternoon. The workshops will be taught “as if by ear”, with the phrases broken down into recognisable motifs, and with enough repetition for those learning by ear. Notation will be provided and can be used as a remider after the course, or at any point for reassurance.
All tuition, resources, accommodation, food and daytime refreshments are included in the course fee. Sheet music and mp3 files of the tunes covered are sent out in advance, full worksheets of the tunes taught are provided, and any recordings from the course are sent on to you afterwards.
For further information or to express your interest in this course, please email Ali (music@stewarthardy.co.uk)
**Covid-19 Update
This course will be run in accordance to our Covid-secure Music Workshop Guidelines, and is subject to any restrictions applicable at the time, and any coronavirus protocols from the venue.
Apr
6
Sat
Apr 6 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
WILLIAM SHIELD: Northumbrian Fiddler and Piper??
Presentation by Dr Amélie Addison with Stewart Hardy (fiddle)
My friend, Dr Amélie Addison, will be giving a presentation at The Chantry Bagpipe Museum as part of the Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering on 6th April. She is the leading authority on local composer William Shield, a man with close ties to the fiddling and piping traditions of the North East, and I am delighted to be illustrating her talk with some tunes on the fiddle.
Tickets £5 adult / £2 school-age
Recordings
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Less than a month to go to our Arrangement Techniques course for mixed instruments, which will be my 100th residential JSArts course!* 🥳There is just one place left if you would like to join us. Get in touch quickly, so we can book you in with the venue - the beautiful Shepherds Dene near Riding Mill in Northumberland.
We will be learning a lovely selection of tunes, and choosing which to work on - exploring options for introductions & endings, varying instrumentation, creating harmony lines and different ways of accompanying the tune to produce alternate soundscapes and narratives. With a limited number of participants, there will be plenty of time to explore ideas from everyone. All instruments are welcome, and if you require notation in different keys or clefs, that can be provided. Dots and audio files are provided in advance, and any recordings from the weekend are sent on afterwards.
*There will be cake! 🎂😊
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Finally, a new tune for The Tune Vault, and to pick up where we left off, here’s another sparkling tune by Tyneside fiddle supremo, James Hill in the key of "F for vescence" 🤣Tykeside (James Hill) | The Tune Vault
youtu.be
Tykeside (James Hill)- The Tune Vault by Stewart HardyThis enigmatically titled reel in F major is another gem by Tyneside fiddling legend James Hill. No tr...
Happy May Day!Looking back, April had some very lovely moments...
At the Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering illustrating Amélie Addison's wonderful talk on William Shield and with cracking performances by Tyneside Fiddle Alliance, our April Workshops on Zoom, a trip to see the amazing Dudok Quartet Amsterdam, a duo gig with Ali Say at the Phoenix Folk Ltd. Spring Thing, the start of Block 3 at North East Fiddle School, and our JSArts Advanced Fiddle course at Rydal Hall. Happy Spring everyone 🎻