NEFS Summer Workshop Weekend 2025

NEFS Summer Workshop Weekend
Sat 5th & Sun 6th July 2025

Saturday 5th July: Fiddle Techniques and Tunes – with Stewart Hardy and Niles Krieger
Sunday 6th July: Beyond the Tunes – with Grace Smith and Stewart Hardy

Join us for two days of folk fiddle workshops for adults with Stewart Hardy, Niles Krieger and Grace Smith. Each day can be booked separately or you can book both together as they will be complimentary but not dependent upon each other. There will be a shared evening on the Saturday with an informal concert by local community fiddle group, Tyneside Fiddle Alliance, followed by a session for everyone.

If the Saturday workshop shows as Out of Stock, please get in touch by email or by using the Contact Form. If there are a few more enquiries, we will hire a second teaching room for the day.

Sat 5th July: 9.30 am – 5.00 pm @ Wylam Methodist Church.
Fiddle Techniques and Tunes
Learn some great tunes with all the relevant fiddle technique for making them come alive and dance off the page. Niles and Stewart will each teach a tune, and look at bowing and any helpful ornaments to make these tunes more interesting, and techniques to make playing them easier. We will finish the day with a session of our core NEFS repertoire.

Sat 5th July: 7.30 – 10.30 pm @ Riding Mill Parish Hall
Evening Social – Free Event
Join us for an informal concert by Tyneside Fiddle Alliance, followed by a session for everyone. All instruments welcome, so please tell family and friends. Free entry for all – donations on the door towards the event will be gratefull received.

Sunday 6th July: 9.30 – 4.00 pm @ Riding Mill Parish Hall
Beyond the Tunes
What happens once you’ve learnt a tune? How can you take this further? We may look at varying a tune to keep it interesting, enhancing it with ringing strings or double stops, accompanying the tune with different fiddle techniques, or adding harmony lines to complement the tune.

All workshops are aimed at competent beginner to advanced players, but won’t be suitable for absolute or early beginner players.
Full notation and audio files will be provided for all workshops and sessions.
Tea and coffee is included, but please bring your own lunches.

Each workshop is £50 and includes all tuition, full resources and refreshments in the breaks (lunch is not included)
Book both SWW workshop days for £95.
Saturday evening: Free Entry – donations gratefully received

If sold out, please contact Ali by email or the Contact Form to be placed on a waiting list in case of a cancellation, or in case we get enough enquiries to hire a second teaching room for the Saturday workshop.

Venues

Wylam Methodist Church, Chapel Lane, Wylam NE41 8AA

Riding Mill Parish Hall, Millfield Rd, Riding Mill NE44 6DJ

Lifts to Wylam Methodist Church can be arranged from Wylam station if you plan to come by train, and Riding Mill Parish Hall is less than 5 minutes walk from Riding Mill station. Car shares may be possible from various localities.

Outline Timetable

Saturday

Wylam Methodist Church

Time	Event
09:30	Welcome
09:45	Physical warm-up
10:00 – 11:15	Workshop 1
11:15	Break
11:45 – 13:00	Workshop 2
13:00 – 14:00	Lunch
14:00 – 15:15	Workshop 3
15:15	Break
15:45 – 17:00	Session

Saturday evening

Riding Mill Parish Hall

Time	Event
19:30 – 20:00	Informal concert by Tyneside Fiddle Alliance
20:15	Session for all instruments
22:30	Close

Sunday