Wren Music - Building community identity by making music together

Wren Music was started in Okehampton 1983 by Marilyn Tucker and Paul Wilson. Nowadays you see a lot of folk music around - at festivals and even in the charts. But in the early 1980s folk music didn ’ t have the profile it has today. Marilyn said: ’We saw the potential for using folk music to help people learn about local cultural heritage and value their community and so we looked for ways of taking folk music to places it might not have pre viously been - like schools and care homes.’ Wren moved into an office on St James Street in January 1985, and relocated to Ebenezer Hall on North Street in January 2015.

Marilyn said: ‘At Wren we believe our role is even more important in 2019: we still u se folk music to build community identity, but we also are helping tackle some of the big issues of today. The benefits of taking part in singing or playing an instrument are well documented - breathing, balance and having a reducing effect on your brain age, amongst other things. ‘The workshops we provide also help people make friends, have fun, and reduce their isolation. ‘Being aware of and proud of local cultural heritage can help to reduce feelings of fear towards other cultures, and we can have fun finding out about songs, tunes and dances from around the world.’ Anyone who saw or took part in the recent Wren Okehampton Lantern Procession knows that the charity deliver s some very special big projects. Wren also goes into residential care homes and s chools to run short projects, and the charity is a specialist in working in schools for children who have special educational needs or disabilities. It also runs regular groups for people who want to make music together more often. For young people Wren ha s just had plans approved to run the Devon - wide youth folk ensemble on behalf of Devon Music Education Hub, which will be starting just after Easter 2019. The ensemble has two components, a choir and a folk orchestra. They will meet at the same place at th e same time (but in different practice rooms!) and these are open to children aged 13 and over. If you would like to find out more contact jondyer@wrenmusic.co.uk . For adults there are five Wren folk choirs - O kehampton, Exeter, Torquay, Sidmouth, South Molton - and three Wren folk orchestras at Broadclyst, Torrington and Paignton. There are never any auditions to join any of these groups, and you don ’ t have to read music or have any previous experience. For pe ople who are a little more confident on their instrument, there are two Wren specialist orchestras for mandolins and fiddles and a special men ’ s choir called MenSing. All these groups meet here in Okehampton. Check the website if you want to join in www.wrenmusic.co.uk/Groups

Two major Wren events happen in Okehampton. Each October the Baring - Gould Folk Weekend takes place, bringing some of the best folk performers from the UK - and around the world - to t he charity’s home town. This year, Friday, October 25th to Sunday, October 27th, is the folk w eekend ’s 20 th anniversary. There are plans for the return of some special visitors from Iceland and Sardinia, along with new visitors from Ireland and Latvia - an