Nicky graduated from Manchester University and the Royal Northern College of Music and trained as a teacher at the University of Reading. She worked as a teacher and cellist in Manchester before joining the music department of The Queen’s School, Chester, then taught in Rome for a short time, at St. George’s English School and, as Director of Music, at The Junior English School.

Nicky returned to England to work as a cello teacher and free-lance player in North Yorkshire and, inspired by an introduction to the philosophy and approach of Zoltán Kodály, decided to train as a Kodály teacher, attending courses in the UK and Hungary and gaining a Certificate of Kodály Music Education.

She currently runs singing-based workshops, courses and musicianship sessions for all ages and is a tutor, Trustee and Summer School Administrator for The British Kodály Academy. She enjoys directing a community choir in Ripon and the Northern Kodály Choir, which meets on the first Sunday afternoon of each month – and still finds time to teach and play the cello!

Angela is a pianist and teacher of piano and Kodály. She has run the Sing-a-Song Kodály classes at E.T.N.A. in London since 1989 and has subsequently taught many of the children the piano. She also teaches Kodály to the Junior School at Sacred Heart, Teddington and for the Colourstrings Music School based at Roehampton University. Angela directs the choir at Sacred Heart School, Colourstrings and St Stephen’s School in Twickenham. She is also on the Education Committee for the British Kodaly Academy and has taught for the BKA at the last three Easter courses.

Angela has taught piano privately since a teenager and until recently at St. David’s School Ashford and performs regularly at local events and with the Prima Donna Party Quartet. An article by her on Kodály for young children was published in the Spring edition of Piano Journal 2008. She is also a regular contributor to the Piano Journal as assistant editor and reviewer of new piano music publications. (B.A.Hons LRSM DipABRSM CKME FRSA)

Sam will be providing the evening entertainment on Tuesday 29th March at the Kodály Spring Course 2016 with his concert – Folk Songs of the Traveller Community.

Mercury Prize nominated Folk singer, song collector, promoter (of BBC award winning Nest Collective) radio host, TV personality, teacher and animateur, Sam this June released his debut album “Ground Of Its Own’ comprised of songs learned 1st hand from the Gypsy Traveler community. The recording is a new musical manifesto, reflecting Sam’s unique artistic journey. Winner of the 2011 Arts Foundation Award, he is fast becoming accepted as a new pioneer, defining the sound, sight and texture of folksong today. Likewise his band ‘Sam Lee & Friends’ perform unconventional and contemporary interpretations challenging all preconceptions of what ‘traditional folk’ should sound like.

Sam Lee Nominated for Folk Awards
Breaking News – We are thrilled to congratulate Sam on his two nominations at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Read more about Sam’s nominations for Best Folk Singer and Best Traditional Track here.

Shan and Martin will be leading the following sessions at the Kodály Spring Course 2016: The Voices of the People: An Expedition in Search of English Folk Song; Pleasant and Delightful: English Folk Songs to learn and sing; Concert of English Folk Song.

Shan began to sing folk songs as a schoolgirl and, in her professional life as a speech and language therapist, developed ways of using song to involve children with special needs in group activities. Her particular interest in children’s songs has led, in 2014, to her compiling (and illustrating) a collection of traditional songs from Britain and America – ‘Rosy Apples’ – for adults to sing with children.

Martin also started to sing folk songs as a teenager and continued to sing with groups and as a solo artist. He became particularly interested in traditional English song and has written a number of songs based on traditional ideas and forms. While living in Devon, he began to study the life and work of Sabine Baring-Gould, the leading collector of song in Devon and Cornwall, and other collectors who he met and influenced. His studies have led to him being regarded as the leading authority on Baring-Gould’s collection. He has delivered a number of public lectures on Baring-Gould’s work as a song collector and has had several articles published. He has also been involved in a number of projects designed to make Baring-Gould’s work better known and more widely available. He has also studied and written about the use of folk music in the composition of English composers such as Holst and Vaughan Williams.

Shan and Martin sing together in unaccompanied harmony. The blend of their voices and their approach to the material has won them international recognition and they now perform regularly at festivals and venues in England and around the world. Their repertoire is based mainly on the traditional songs of Southern England with a strong emphasis on the Baring-Gould collection, but they also sing a number of more modern songs, including some of those that Martin has written. Shan is also well known for the workshops that she leads on aspects of voice use and care.