What's Happening

September 9th to November 11th

Age-to-Age moves on to Bracknell next term with Ladybank Residential Home teaming up with 2 primary schools, Birch Hill and St. Margaret Clitherow RC, in a project funded by Bracknell Forest BC, running from September 9th to November 11th. The storyteller/reminiscence worker will be Janet Dowling.  More Basingstoke projects are also being discussed, along with one in Cambridge!

September 10th-14th

Roger will again be visiting Vilnius, Lithuania in September for the Griezyne festival.  As well as concerts and other performances, he will teach English music and dance to students at Vilnius University.

Recording of 'The Navvy's Wife' by Mick Ryan, will take place at Wild Goose Studios, Andover, during September. Watch out for news of CD release in due course!

Sing in the Shorter Days', harmony singing course, at Farnham Maltings and  South Hill Park, Bracknell

October - December Sign up NOW!  details below

 Mondays 6th, 13th and 20th October and 3rd, 10th and 17th November

Farnham Maltings: Long Kiln Room, 8.00 - 9.30pm,

£40 for the whole series. Book via Farnham Maltings Box Office

 Tuesdays 14th and 21st October, 4th, 11th and 25th November and 2nd December

South Hill Park Bracknell: Terrace Room, 8.00 - 9.30pm,

£8 per session (no concs.) or £40 for the whole series (= 1 session free!) Book via South Hill Park Box Office

October 3rd

Roger calling and playing as part of Pigeon English at Impart, Lincoln.

October 10th

Robb Johnson and the Irregulars, Rising Sun Institute, Reading

 24th to 26th October & 27th to 31st October
Roger is performing at the Baring-Gould Folk Festival in Okehampton, Devon, and working as a tutor on the Baring-Gould Song School, which follows the festival, from 27th to 31st October.  Wren Folk and Community Music Trust

Roger has been working lately in project direction (see Projects: Creative Longsword Dance) and record production (see recent events) and will be directing a project bringing together Slovakian folk ensemble Ponitran and English classical trio Naiades in a project based at Dr Challoner's High School, near Amersham, in November.

Funded by Awards for All and underwritten by Making Music, the project, developed jointly with Amersham Concert Society, will see Ponitran in England for the first time. They have toured extensively in Europe (East & West) and visited the USA, gaining a reputation for superb musicianship and an excellent approach to education and collaboration.

The November project will include workshops for the school and for young string players from the Bucks area, plus an open creative rehearsal together with Naiades (directed by Roger) and a concert which will include both ensembles in their own right and the piece which they will have created together.  Open rehearsal and concert both take place on Saturday 8th November at Dr Challoner's.                                                                    Ponitran

Looking further ahead, Roger will again be a tutor at the Trek-er-es-Uut melodeon workshop festival in Nijmegen, Holland in May 2009. He is also provisionally booked for Chippenham Folk Festival.

Roger is calling for many private events with MoonDance, Pigeon English and others, for weddings, birthdays and other social occasions.

For work with Boka Halat visit www.bokahalat.co.uk

Recent events

The workshops for Age-to Age in Basingstoke (Fairfields Junior School and Townsend Close) funded by Kingfisher Housing Association are now complete. see Projects: Age-to-Age section

Overton Junior School Longsword Dancers premiered at Overton Sheep Fair on July 19th.

The CD 'Siivet' (Wings) by Minna Raskinen and Seckou Keita, produced by Roger is now released