Booking Open for 2025-26 Season
We are very excited to welcome you to Jackdaws 2025-26 Season, whether you’ve visited us before or have only just discovered us.
Our weekend courses are known for their high-quality content with a welcoming atmosphere and delicious home-cooked meals, all set against a backdrop of beautiful, rural Great Elm in the Vallis Vale area of outstanding natural beauty.
Our year-round programme includes courses for adult amateur musicians, large scale education projects, a Young Artists programme and performances
Jackdaws is dedicated to improving participation in and enjoyment of music, enabling creative expression for all by bringing music to life. If you are reading this information you probably already know that, but did you know that more than 50% of new bookers find us through word of mouth? So don’t forget to “Spread the Word about the Bird”. If our courses are well attended this helps us to be more sustainable and, as we approach our 35th birthday, able to offer music making opportunities for years to come.
Did you know that by coming on a course you are also supporting future musicians? Your support helps us engage with thousands of children and young people, inspiring and enabling creative expression by bringing accessible and inclusive music projects into their schools. Every year we bring together world class musicians and school children in the South West, through award-winning Education projects such as ‘Year of__’, ‘Song Story’ and ‘OperaPLUS’.
What people had to say about previous seasons:
Remember: your booking is not guaranteed until you have paid your deposit. The easiest way to do this is to pay online via PayPal – no need for an account, simply check out as a Guest.
Let’s take a look at some of the seasons highlights:
Singers are spoiled for choice with several great new courses to try out this season including these New Courses: Singing to Recover Your Breath with Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Singing Baroque: From Monteverdi to Bach with Jonathan Peter Kenny, Singing the Italian Way with Owain Browne, and Team Lieder! with Richard Jackson.
Alongside many of our wonderful regular courses featuring a wide selection of repertoire, technical and language based approaches there is definitely a song for all to sing.
There are two new piano courses to try out this year.
A chance to explore an area of the repertoire that offers a rich variety of colour, texture and history in: Russian and Slavic piano music and the influence of Chopin with Nicholas Walker,
Gain an understanding of your physiology at the keyboard, build your practice toolbox, develop your understanding of the score and build a more confident performance during The art of Performance and Practice with Phillip Leslie.
The beloved Guitar Ensemble Weekend led by the Eden Stell Duo returns offering an exciting orchestral time for guitarists in January.
Our exciting ensemble course for Viol players led by two of the wonderful members of Fretwork, Joanna Levine and Richard Boothby, is returning to Jackdaws at the end of February.
And don’t forget The Klezmer weekend in March, for our string players to get involved in, which everyone who has taken part in has loved so far.
Our Wind courses encompass dedicated weekends for Recorders in November, Oboes and Clarinets in April, and Bassoons in June – with opportunities to play solo and in ensembles.
Be sure to take a look at our Ensemble Courses for other opportunities to play in groups.
We are delighted that William Lyons and Richard Thomas are back to make music as an ensemble with the ever popular early music ensemble weekend The City Musick in February.
We are very excited to again be able to offer an ensemble course for Viols– Viol Consorts with members of Fretwork.
And the return of the Klezmer weekend which was a massive hit last year welcomes players of all instruments to join in the experience of playing this incredible community music of celebration.
One of the busiest weekends of our Ensemble calendar is undoubtedly the Chamber Music Weekend, led by Stephen Gutman – a wonderful opportunity to enjoy some larger ensembles.