When asked what I like to do in my free time, my first answer is always that I love playing the violin. When I’m then asked about the type of music I play, people are often surprised when I tell them I play traditional folk music; it’s a bit different from the usual grade pieces or classical music that many associate with the violin. The story of how I got into it is both interesting and surprisingly unremarkable – I just stumbled into it really. Since I consider Fosbrooks (the name of my group) an integral part of my character that made me into the person I am today, I wanted to share my story with folk music and show how you can find your tribe in the most unlikely of places.
It all started when I was seven years old and I’d just started junior school. Our music teacher told us about the traditional music group she ran where we could choose to try the violin or accordion, as well as clog and Irish dancing. As a curious child, I wanted to see what it was all about and whilst it was a bit intimidating at first, I enjoyed it. I wasn’t so keen on the dancing, admittedly, but I liked trying the musical instruments (even if my initial violin efforts sounded like nails on a chalkboard!). I tried the accordion before the violin, but eventually, I was chosen to take home a violin. It worked out to be a blessing in disguise because, shortly after starting, I had to have a major operation on my leg which left me in a wheelchair with a metal frame around my leg. Suffice to say, a violin was easier to play than an accordion in this case.
I felt terribly low at this point as I couldn’t run on the playground with my friends, and it was a lot for anyone to deal with, let alone a seven-year-old. Fosbrooks became my safe place and Liza, the school’s music teacher and the group’s director, went out of her way to make me feel included. She offered me private violin lessons free of charge so I could start doing grades on the violin, and I also had weekly penny whistle lessons on Saturday mornings. I got along well with Keith, my penny whistle teacher, and I remember our classes fondly. He passed away in 2015, and when I left primary school, I was awarded the Keith Gordon Memorial Trophy to recognise my determination in the Fosbrooks despite the difficulties I’d faced. I’m still grateful for the support Liza gave me even when I was still so new to the group. If it weren’t for her encouragement, I probably wouldn’t have continued.
Me and Keith
One of the biggest ways that Fosbrooks has changed my life is through the people I’ve had the privilege of meeting and the opportunities it’s given me. We’ve had hundreds of members come and go over the years, but I have a close group of friends who are still part of the group and who I’d consider family. The pandemic took its toll, as we lost many members and had no new intake for a couple of years, but we’re thankfully starting to grow again. I also have a very close relationship with Liza, the wonderful woman in charge of the Fosbrooks. She refers to herself as my Fairy Godmother, whilst I am her Fairy Goddaughter.
I’ve had the chance to go away with Fosbrooks several times on local, national and international trips. We often go to Whitby in August to perform at Whitby Folk Festival but this year, we’ve been invited to Sidmouth Folk Festival for the first time in years. It happens to coincide with my 21st birthday, so I’ll be spending my 21st doing something I love, surrounded by people I love. These folk festivals are a fantastic opportunity to see all sorts of music and dance styles, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Sidmouth has to offer. The last time we went abroad was in 2019 when we went to France to perform with a French group called Les Petiots. The pandemic has sadly meant we haven’t been able to go since then, but this same group came to Stockport last year to pay us a visit.
Another opportunity it gave me was the chance to try the Nyckelharpa, a Swedish string instrument
I was absent from all our rehearsals for the first term of this year due to being in Geneva. The day before I left, we had a lovely farewell gathering at the Roman Lakes. I wasn’t really concerned by the fact I’d be missing for several months because I knew I would always have Fosbrooks to return to. When I started struggling with anxiety in Geneva, Liza and I wrote postcards and emails to each other to keep in touch. I believe my experience of studying abroad strengthened our friendship, which is one of few positive things that came out of that difficult time.
This article isn’t about telling you to join a folk group because you’ll love it; there aren’t even that many to join nowadays! Rather, it’s about sharing my story of how something I never would have imagined doing had such a profound impact on my life. It made me into a confident and outgoing person, and let’s be honest, you definitely need confidence to own the fact that you play the violin in a clogging group as a teenager. The biggest lesson I’ve learned from being part of the Fosbrooks is this: try something out of your comfort zone every once in a while. It will do wonders for your self-esteem, and you might even end up finding a new ‘family’ along the way.
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