Tabernacle Folk | Musicians

Describing herself simply as a “modern English musician”, Eliza Carthy still in her mid-30s, is only now beginning to reach the height of her musical powers. During a 20-year journey/career she has become one of the most dazzling and recognised folk musicians of a generation. She has revitalised and made folk music relevant to new audiences and has captured the most hardened of dissenters with canny, charismatic and boundary-crossing performance. Many of the current crop of young professional folk musicians owe their successes in part to her determination, standard-bearing and campaigning spirit.

Tunde Jegede is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who is uniquely placed between the worlds of Contemporary Classical and African Classical Music. He plays and performs on the Cello, Kora (West African Harp Lute), Piano and Percussion.

Cooper and Bolton are Pete Cooper (fiddle, mandolin and vocals) and Richard Bolton (cello and guitar). Their musical influences are diverse, but they identify their music – both traditional tunes and songs, and their own highly original new pieces – as ‘Contemporary English Roots’. Midlanders by birth, Richard from Birmingham, Pete from near Stafford, they met in London in the 1990s, at the London Fiddle Convention.

Tim Eriksen is acclaimed for transforming American tradition with his startling interpretations of old ballads, love songs, shape-note gospel and dance tunes from New England and Southern Appalachia. He combines hair-raising vocals with inventive accompaniment on banjo, fiddle, guitar and bajo sexto – a twelve-string Mexican acoustic bass – creating a distinctive hardcore Americana sound that ranges from the bare bones of solo unaccompanied singing on his recent album Soul of the January Hills (Appleseed 2010) through the stripped-down voice and bajo sexto Christmas album Star in the East and the old-time Banjo, Fiddle and Voice (timeriksenmusic 2012) to the lush, multi-layered arrangements on Josh Billings Voyage, an album of northern roots music.

After a classical training at Oxford University playing cello, Richard Bolton has become one of the unsung heroes of the London jazz scene, where he is highly respected for his sensitive and versatile guitar playing.

Billy Hill has been playing folk fiddle since he was seven, and learns with Pete Cooper. He’s been performing in festivals and folk clubs for the last three years, and has won several awards and competitions, including Battle of the Buskers (People’s Choice)

Michael Hollette Although not musical herself, Michael’s mother introduced him to music when he was still very little, as she wanted to involve him in all sorts of new experiences. Aged 6, Michael started learning the violin. Now 12, he also plays bassoon, piano, orchestral percussion, steel pans, flute and cornet. Michael is also keen on a wide range of musical styles – playing the bassoon in a Romany Gypsy Band or experimenting with jazz on the recorder.

Isabella Kolaczynska is a young musician, who is just completing her studies of classical violin at Wells, the internationally renowned specialist music school. Previously, she has twice won the string solo prize at the National Urdd Eisteddfod and toured with the Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain. Her ambitions are to work as a solo classical violinist as well as continuing to collaborate with other musicians on innovative works and projects.