Online Events

May Morning

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Written by David Rogers

Once again Oxford May Morning will be a virtual event this year.
Here are some online events to help you celebrate:

Thursday April 29th

11:30 am - Dancers at Dawn on BBC Radio 4 with Martin Green:

In a new documentary for BBC Radio 4, Lau accordionist and Ivor Novello Award-winning composer Martin Green embarks on a very personal exploration of the ancient associations of music and dance with altered states of consciousness. Dancers at Dawn traces a line from Martin’s early noughties rave epiphany back to his childhood memories of a dawn Morris dance, both events having taken place by Wandlebury Hill, a site rich in ancient myth. 

Dancers at Dawn will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 29 April at 11:30am, then available via BBC Sounds. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vhkf

Saturday May 1st

5:30 am - #LiveToYourLivingRoom: May Dawn Dance with Martin Green, Elia Carthy, Maddy Prior;,Adie Baako and Boss Morris

Martin Green (Lau) warmly invites you all to Bring In The May; come and celebrate the changing seasons and the revolutions of the Earth.

For thousands of years people have gathered at dawn to celebrate the changing of the seasons, and for unknown hundreds of those years people have done this through the medium of morris dancing. Join us in celebrating The First of May, The People’s day.

Traditionally morris teams dance in the dawn on May Day and once again lockdown won’t stop them. The ground-breaking Boss Morris will lead massed dancing for any who wish to join them; Eliza Carthy will join from Yorkshire for a song; Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span) will lead the singing of the May song Hal-an-Tow; and Ghanaian dancer Adie Baako will join Martin in Scotland for a traditional dance marking the changing of the seasons.

Wear Green for The Earth and Red for Its Struggles. All welcome to join from home (muted!) as we celebrate together; apart but not alone.

For those who want to join in at home, your ticket confirmation will include a link to download Boss’s patented Hot Rum recipe, song lyrics for the morning, and notation for a massed May Carol which will be pre-recorded – please do submit a recording yourself if you’d like to.

Live to your Living Room are delighted to produce this event in partnership with Lepus Productions and Oxford Contemporary Music.

Information and tickets: https://livetoyourlivingroom.com/events/may-dawn-dance/

6:00 am - Magdalen College Choir have prerecorded the traditional Latin hymn, prayer, and madrigals at the top of the Great Tower and this will be available from just before 6am on Saturday 1 May on the Choir’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

EFDSS Online Youth Folk Sampler Day - June 6th @ The Stables

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Written by David Rogers

Aged 12–18?

Play an instrument confidently?

Want to play by ear, develop your creativity and have the opportunity to audition to join the National Youth Folk Ensemble?

Sign up for a free online Sampler Day!

Sunday 6 June 11am–4pm, in partnership with The Stables, Milton Keynes

Book your free place now: efdss.org/youthfolk

To register for a Sampler Day you will need to:

• be aged 12–18 
• live in England
• be able to play confidently on your chosen instrument 

Each Sampler Day features:

• online music workshops with highly skilled professional folk artists
• online Q&A with Ensemble staff
• optional short online audition, if you wish to apply for the National Youth Folk Ensemble (please note the auditions are for people who are 14–18 on 1 September 2021)

Sampler Days are open to players of any instrument. No experience of folk music necessary. All playing and learning will be done by ear. You are welcome to book for any date, however we recommend booking for your closest event if possible, to meet other young musicians from your area.   

Places are free, but numbers are limited.

Reserve yours now! https://www.efdss.org/learning/young-people/national-youth-folk-ensemble/sampler-days