Trac Cymru is passionate about demonstrating the special qualities that traditional Welsh music possesses to support community cohesion through the passing on of knowledge and culture through the generations. Our long association with the sparkling contemporary folk music star, Bethan Rhiannon, is a great example of how we help young people to develop their passion and skills and then provide them with opportunities to educate and inspire the next generation of children.
Bethan began her musical development with Trac Cymru as a clog dancing teenager who attended a folk camp in Sweden back in 2003 as part of a special project that the charity organised for her and a group of other young female musicians, who later became the band Degogenod. It was at the camp that her passion for traditional music really grew and also where she first met some of her future professional music partners. Bethan has since progressed into becoming a major Welsh artist in bands such as Calan, Pendevig, and NoGood Boyo, and now she also teaches young people herself.
As you can see in the video below, we caught up with Bethan for a chat at the ‘Festival Interceltique de Lorient’ in Brittany, where NoGood Boyo were playing alongside some of the emerging young Welsh folk music performers that Trac has been supporting. She enthused about her eagerness to pass on skills and celebrate traditional Welsh arts, and she talked about the importance of Trac Cymru’s work in nurturing her own development.
It was the 21st anniversary of Trac Cymru in 2021 but thanks to the coronavirus our plans to celebrate this milestone were put on hold. As we prepare to launch our exciting new vision to support even more people to develop their own special connection to our amazing national music, we wanted to share a few success stories from the last 21+1 years. Please help us by sharing these stories with your friends and colleagues, and join us in posting your own happy memories about Welsh folk music on social media by using #TRAC21.
Trac Cymru is a charity that depends on your support to continue making a difference to people’s lives and to help us to keep doing our work for the nation’s cultural heritage. Please help us by making a donation today.
