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FOR a decade it has nourished and nurtured young folk musicians and now England's only Folk and Traditional Music degree is having a party to celebrate turning 10.
The degree was dreamed up by the composer and concertina player Alistair Anderson after running a successful annual youth summer school for folk musicians.
Alistair discovered a demand for further education and as director of Folkworks (now part of The Sage Gateshead), he helped design a course for singers and instrumentalists at Newcastle University. He says: "These youngsters insisted there should be a course and Newcastle was the ideal place due to its strong folk music heritage and the breadth of musical horizons among the staff at the university."
As part of the degree students study instruments including fiddle, banjo, concertina, harp and pipes, as well as learning about the history of folk and traditional music.
Alistair adds: "I am very proud of what has been achieved. The quality of the students who are coming through and our graduates is still really exciting."
In 2002, 23 pioneers enrolled on the four-year course including two girls who would go on to found Scottish band The Shee.
Rachel Newton, from Edinburgh, of The Shee says: "My background is heavily influenced by Gaelic music but what appealed to...