Trac: Music Traditions Wales

Last updated

Trac Cymru is a Welsh folk development organisation [1] and registered charity which promotes and develops the music and dance traditions of Wales, both within Wales and beyond, and advocates on behalf of the traditional arts with public bodies and other organisations. Activities include a range of annual courses in song, dance and instrumental playing for all ages and abilities. [2] trac also works with the professional sector, [3] providing training for performers, and promoting Welsh traditional music and artists in the UK and abroad, as well as commissioning new artistic work. [4] Trac is supported by the Arts Council of Wales. [5] The organisation was founded by Stephen Rees, Danny KilBride, Phil Freeman, and Ceri Rhys Matthews of Fernhill. [6]

Its board of trustees is chaired by Dr Marlene Davies. Other board members include Terry Duffy, Dr Keith Floyd, Mary-Anne Roberts, Francis Brown, Prof James Blythe, Catherine Bartlett, Sarah Smith and Peter Cornell. [7] Its patrons include Kevin Brennan MP, musician and activist Dafydd Iwan, songwriter and broadcaster Frank Hennessy and broadcaster Huw Stephens. [8]

Trac Cymru has a full-time team of two: Director Danny KilBride and Company Manager Blanche Rowen. [8]

Constitution

Trac Cymru is a registered charity and Company Limited by Guarantee. Its Charity Number is 1085422, [9] and its Company Number is 4106014. Its legal name is Trac: Music Traditions Wales Ltd., or in Welsh Traddodiadau Cerdd Cymru. [9] It is not a membership organisation but is governed by memorandum and articles. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Wales</span> Music associated with Wales

The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wales Millennium Centre</span> Arts centre in Cardiff Bay, Wales

Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) is Wales' national arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of 4.7 acres (1.9 ha). Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arts Council of Wales</span> Welsh Government sponsored body for funding the arts

The Arts Council of Wales is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.

The English Folk Dance and Song Society is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society. The EFDSS, a member-based organisation, was incorporated in 1935 and became a registered charity in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carreg Lafar</span> Welsh folk band

Carreg Lafar is a contemporary traditional Welsh folk band. Formed in Cardiff by Rhian Evan-Jones, Antwn Owen-Hicks, James Rourke, Linda Owen Jones, and Simon O'Shea, Carreg Lafar means "a speaking stone", or "echo stone".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pibgorn (instrument)</span>

The pibgorn is a Welsh species of idioglot reed aerophone. The name translates literally as "pipe-horn". It is also historically known as cornicyll and pib-corn. It utilises a single reed, cut from elder or reed, like that found in the drone of a bagpipe, which is an early form of the modern clarinet reed. The single chambered body of the elder pipe has a naturally occurring parallel bore, into which are drilled six small finger-holes and a thumb-hole giving a diatonic compass of an octave. The body of the instrument is traditionally carved from a single piece of wood or bone. Playable, extant historical examples in the Museum of Welsh Life have bodies cut and shaped of elder. Another, unplayable instrument at the Museum, possibly of a later date, is made from the leg bone of an unspecified ungulate. Contemporary instruments are turned and bored from a variety of fruitwoods, or exotic hardwoods; or turned from, or moulded in plastics. The reed is protected by a reed-cap or stock of cow-horn. The bell is shaped from a section of cow-horn which serves to amplify the sound. The pibgorn may be attached to a bag, with the additional possibility of a drone, which is then called pibau cwd; or played directly with the mouth via the reed-cap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredydd Evans</span> Musical artist

Meredydd Evans, known colloquially as Merêd, was a collector, editor, historian and performer of folk music of Wales. A major figure in Welsh media for over half a century, Evans has been described as influencing "almost every sphere of Welsh cultural life, from folk music and philosophy to broadcasting and language politics".

Adult Learning Wales is a registered charity and adult education provider serving the whole of Wales.

Geraint Talfan Davies OBE DL FRIBA FLSW is a Welsh journalist and broadcaster, and a long-serving trustee and chairman of many Welsh civic, arts, media and cultural organisations.

Ballet Cymru is a touring classical ballet company based in Newport, South Wales, formed in 1986 by dancer and choreographer Darius James. Currently formed of 12 dancers, the company tours to around 70 venues each year throughout the UK. The Independent described them as "a brightly gifted, energetic young ensemble that tours England, Wales and Ireland, taking dance to smaller venues that might otherwise be starved of ballet."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh dance</span> Traditional dance in Wales

The Welsh dance, also known as the Welsh folk dance, is a traditional dance in Wales, performed to Welsh traditional music and while usually wearing a traditional Welsh costume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autism Cymru</span> Former Welsh national charity for autism

Autism Cymru was Wales' national charity for autism with offices in Cardiff, Wrexham, and Aberystwyth. The charity was established in May 2001 through an initial 3-year grant provided by The Shirley Foundation. The founder chair of the Trustees was Dame Stephanie Shirley of the Shirley Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballet Nimba</span>

Ballet Nimba from Guinea is an African dance theatre company and music recording artist. It is the first of its kind to be based in Wales, UK. It was founded in 2010 by Guinean choreographer Idrissa Camara with its home in Cardiff and is made up of a collective of about 15 dancers and musicians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caerleon Arts Festival</span> Building in Wales

The Caerleon Arts Festival is a yearly arts, literature and entertainment event in the town of Caerleon, near Newport, Wales. It is held in July, setting up over a week period, with a main weekend hosting the headline events. The 2019 festival concluded on 13 and 14 July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cool Cymru</span> Culture, music and arts era

Cool Cymru was a Welsh cultural movement in music and independent film in the 1990s and 2000s, led by the popularity of bands such as Catatonia, Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballet Black</span> British ballet company

Cassa Pancho's Ballet Black is a British ballet company. It was founded by Cassa Pancho MBE in 2001 as a response to the lack of professional Black and Asian ballet dancers in the UK. The Company was established to provide dancers and students of black and Asian descent with inspiring opportunities in classical ballet. In addition to company Founder, Artistic Director Cassa Pancho the ballet black founding members included Denzil Bailey, Celia Grannum Perarnaud (dancer), Sia Kpakiwa (Kiwa) (dancer), Florence Raja, Jake Nwogu (dancer), Gerrard Martin (dancer) and Frederic Claudel (dancer). Based in Marylebone, London, Ballet Black are a touring company with 10 dancers and a repertoire of specially commissioned choreography.

The Welsh Folk Dance Society is an organisation which supports, maintains and extends Welsh traditional dancing. It is also a registered charity.

Phyllis Kinney is an American-born singer, collector and historian who is a leading authority on Welsh folk music. She studied at the Juilliard School and was a soprano with the Carl Rosa Opera Company during the 1940s. After meeting her husband Meredydd Evans, Kinney immersed herself in the culture of Wales. Through her writing, research and performances, Kinney helped to preserve and promote traditional music of Wales. The archives of Kinney and Evans are now part of the Welsh Music Archive at the National Library of Wales.

Cerys Hafana is a Welsh musician.

References

  1. Wales.com, Welsh Government official gateway Archived 2015-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "TAKING PART: the folk arts in communities - trac". trac. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
  3. "ON STAGE: creativity and artist development - trac". trac. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
  4. National Lottery Good Causes
  5. Annual Review Report 2013/14, Arts Council of Wales
  6. Artist information Page for KilBride Brothers, Creighton's Collection
  7. Contact & Trustees, Charity Commission for England & Wales
  8. 1 2 "Who's who?", trac
  9. 1 2 Charity overview, Charity Commission for England & Wales
  10. Charity framework, Charity Commission for England & Wales