Ten years of Folk Music...

Susie Fox is based in York, playing mostly at The First Sunday Folk Club in Heminbrough, Folk at the Ferry in Thorganby and has played for many years at The Black Swan Folk Club in York.  She sings, plays guitar, descant, treble and tenor recorder and uses the Bodhran for session music.  In times past, she has travelled to Bradford, Leeds, Harrogate, Whitby and Aklam, Middlesborough to play in different folk clubs and festivals.  In 2005 she played with flautist Jack Firminger, and sang solo, on three of the Radio York Folk Programmes that were broadcast on Wednesday evenings.  Lullaby (Words E.Bronte/Music Fox), Moorlough Shore (Trad arr Fox), I can go, or I can stay (c. Fox 2005) Geordie (Trad arr Fox) and Walking down the road in the wrong direction (c. Fox 2004) were recorded for the programmes.

It is fifteen years since she first visited a folk club, and sang her first song, East Virginia, learned from a 50p second hand cassette tape bought from a jumble sale. Those were the seven longest and most strugglesome verses ever sung in the history of the universe of folk!

In 2009 she bought a Ralph Bown Guitar and some fine recorders.  Gone are the clarinets - aaaagh!  Also smothered the new instruments in "Smartwater"! just to be on the safe side. No burglaries please.

Bohran Lessons are available as a one-off workshop or a series of lessons  CLICK HERE

The early days...

Susie started her musical life as a classical musician. Her very first instrument was the descant recorder, followed closely by the larger tenor recorder.  This has developed into a fascination for medieval and baroque music written for the instruments, and she has since bought a treble recorder and uses this to intersperse songs with musical interludes. 

Then came the piano lessons, followed two years later by clarinet.  After many years of playing piano and clarinet she took up the 6 string guitar (£40 ! bargain), taught herself, and then bought a much beloved Ovation.  Many years later she went the whole hog and bought a Ralph Bown guitar from a longstanding mate, Dave Shaw who was daft enough to sell it. 

Never satisfied, and always on the look out for opportunity to make a noise, the bodhran was bought, learned and played in musical sessions held in the local pubs.  As ever, it makes an appearance in songs accompanying some that would otherwise be solo.  It is a Malarchy Kearns from Roundstone in Eire.

Susie teaches beginner Bodhran. Normally, this is a 1 1/2-hour lesson held as a one-off that starts a beginner on their percussive journey into reels, jigs, slip jigs and hornpipes. Or this can be presented to a group as a workshop.  Contact by email or telephone.

Susie teaches piano and theory professionally.  Half-hour lessons are scheduled weekly, and she works with Associated Board of the Royal Schools of music syllabuses. 

And when not doing all of this....she can be found hard at work during the day, working with people with Learning Difficulties and Special Needs.  Also, she is teacher and practitioner of Reiki & Seichem, Aromatherapy & Herbalism.