New spaces, new music, new ideas, new connections….
Our 2024 programme is all about exploring our relationship to creativity and music through listening, creating, performing, and participating.
Our Story
Folkestone New Music was launched in May 2019 by composer and artistic director John Woolrich. Our aim is to platform new music, artists, composers, ideas, and spaces in our interesting seaside town and the surrounding areas.
People
Musicians, artists & composers who’ve come to Folkestone and shared their work include Thomas Adès, Tansy Davies, Eleesha Drennan, Michel Faber, Nicholas Kenyon, Noriko Okaku, Mark Simpson, Howard Skempton, Rolf Wallin, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Huw Watkins, Freya Waley-Cohen, Colin Matthews, and many more.
We are keen on supporting emerging performers and composers and have supported: Ensemble Renard, Junyan Chen, the Kirkman, Echea, and Salome String Quartets, the Mazzolini Trio, and musicians from the London Sinfonietta Academy, Royal Academy of Music, and the University of Kent.
Spaces
We’ve held events in interesting places such as The Customs House, Folkestone Harbour Arm, The Green Room at The Grand, Folkestone, St Eanswythe’s Church, Strange Cargo Gallery, Cheriton, and outdoors in Payers Park, Folkestone. We’re currently developing a programme in collaboration with little-known heritage buildings in East Kent.
Ideas and Collaborations
We like to bring people together and have facilitated a number of collaborations - bringing together theatre directors, actors, musicians, composers, film producers, choreographers and more, to explore music and creativity.
Our Team
John Woolrich, Artistic Director Olivia Franklin, Producer Liz Coomb, Producer
Advisory Committee
Our advisory committee of music and arts specialists includes: Philip Cashian, Liz Coomb, Tansy Davies, Morgan Hayes, Mark Simpson, Terry Smith, Andrew Ward.
Funding and Support
Folkestone New Music has received funding from Arts Council England and Creative Folkestone.
Come and join us at an event soon.
“I have nothing but the greatest admiration for Folkestone New Music, for what it has achieved since 2019, and for what it plans to do in the future. With limited resources it puts on consistently ambitious and thought-provoking talks and concerts, initiated by the master programmer John Woolrich. No praise is too high!”