Folk England Presents Folk, Bhangra and the Creative Process
Join Folk England in exploring an engaging, creative arranging process for the Key Stage 3 and above classroom using bhangra and British folk music.
Co-led by Kuljit Bhamra and Hazel Askew, the workshop will involve participating in body percussion, singing, vocalisation and vocables. You are encouraged to bring your own instrument, but the session will be accessible for those without.
What key themes will be discussed?
- Folk creative pratice
- Cross cultural sharing
- Folk tunes and rhythms from two cultures
- Practical application in the classroom
- Creative music making
What are the learning outcomes and key takeaways?
- Experience an example of positive cross-cultural collaboration, rooted in mutual respect and understanding.
- Explore diverse sound worlds through aural learning.
- Gain confidence in improvising and working together to make arrangements without the use of notation.
This session will be of particular interest to:
- Those interested in cross-cultural collaboration in group improvisation and arrangement.
Interactions
- Audience participation
Speakers
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Hazel Askew
-
Kuljit Bhamra
Keda Music
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Rachel Elliott
Folk England
Hazel Askew
Hazel Askew is a folk singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer from London, playing melodeon, concertina and harp.
She is a respected performer on the folk scene, most notably with BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominated trio Lady Maisery and traditional duo The Askew Sisters. Hazel is also a member of the seasonal collaborations Awake Arise and Wakefire, and won Best Album at the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards as part of 10 piece supergroup Songs of Separation. She regularly performs with the cross-cultural collaboration Bhangra Ceilidh, drawing on these vibrant traditions to get people dancing.
Hazel has worked as a composer and musical director on productions such as on Darren Ellis Dance’s shows ‘The Long Walk Home’ and ‘Running World’, Ben Crystal’s Shakespeare Ensembles productions of Macbeth, Twelfth Night and Henry V, Shakespeare in Styria’s King Lear as well as More Film’s short films ‘International Men’s Day’ and the trilogy ‘Tales’. She worked as a performer in Sky/HBO/Punchdrunk’s Bafta nominated 12 hour live broadcast ‘The Third Day’ and was associate musical director on Fisherman’s Friends The Musical.
Hazel is a committed folk educator and often leads projects for the Folk England’s learning programmes as well as workshops and courses for organisations including BBC Proms, Barbican Creative Learning, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Folkworks, Streetwise Opera, Aldeburgh Young Musicians, Saffron Hall, Dartington Summer School and various festivals around the country.
Kuljit Bhamra
Keda Music
Kuljit Bhamra is a pioneer of Bhangra music and a prolific composer renowned for his cross-cultural collaborations.
With over 3,000 recorded and produced songs, his extensive career spans film, television, gaming, and theatre. His prominent film credits include composing for Bhaji on the Beach, A Winter of Love, and Bend It Like Beckham, alongside appearances and musical contributions to Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Doctor Who, and the video game Genshin Impact (Sumeru).
In theatre, Kuljit performed as an on-stage percussionist in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bombay Dreams and wrote the Indian music for the West End’s The Far Pavilions. He later co-orchestrated and played tabla for the stage adaptation of Bend It Like Beckham. His composing portfolio for theatre features acclaimed productions such as A Passage to India, Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
His significant contributions to music have earned him numerous accolades, including a platinum disc presented by BBC Radio DJ John Peel.
Beyond performance and composition, Kuljit is deeply committed to promoting Indian instruments globally. To demystify Indian music and democratise drumming, he created a universal Tabla Notation system currently utilised by students and composers worldwide. Expanding on this mission through his company Keda Music, he recently developed Tabla Touch, the world’s first electronic tabla, bridging traditional musicianship with modern technological innovation.
Rachel Elliott
Folk England
Rachel Elliott is Education Director for Folk England, responsible for its national folk music and dance education programme. This includes the National Youth Folk Ensemble (one of 15 National Youth Music Organisations funded by Arts Council England), which was awarded an ABO Impact Award 2026 for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for significantly increasing Global Majority representation amongst the artists and repertoire in its work. Folk England’s learning programmes also include its Inclusive Folk programme for learning disabled young people, London Youth Folk Ensemble, its creative learning projects with music services, Music Hubs, cultural partners, and schools, the Folk Education Network, award-winning free online learning resources, dance development programme, the Bhangra Ceilidh project, and more. Prior to joining Folk England in 2008, Rachel worked for 25-years as a dance artist and dance educator for numerous dance and cultural organisations in education, community, and health settings, and with D/deaf and disabled people. Rachel is chair of Camden Music’s steering group and trustee with Protein Dance.
Folk England champions folk music, song, and dance at the heart of England’s rich and diverse cultural landscape.
