After seeing all the amazing benefits that teenagers were gaining from Trac Cymru’s immersive residential course, the charity decided to extend the benefits of its programme to help even younger children to develop their personal skills whilst learning traditional music skills.
The charity’s popular Gwerin Iau (‘Young Folk’) course became an annual event starting in 2016 held in the glorious setting of the Urdd Centre near Bala in North Wales, offering singing, clogging, and instrumental workshops for 8–12-year-olds with some of the Welsh folk tradition’s brightest stars.
One of the things children said was most important to them was that the course had given them the chance to make new friends from all over Wales: “I have learnt that if you are dreading doing something it can actually be quite fun!”
Watch our video from the 2018 course👇
Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic brought our courses to a standstill, but Trac Cymru is planning to relaunch these vital activities for young people very soon. You can help us to fund our educational programmes by making a donation today.
Please support us and share these stories with your friends and colleagues, and join us in posting your own happy memories about Welsh folk music on social media #TRAC21.
