This was the fifth season for this SJFAC-sponsored project, which aims to introduce young folk musicians to the joys of collaborative musical effort. The workshops and concerts were the brainchild of Fergus O’Byrne, who wanted to provide an opportunity for young people who were too young to go to the downtown sessions to have a chance to play with other young traditional musicians. Fergus has taken on the role of co-ordinator of the exercise -- not a small job with twenty-five to thirty kids aged from 7 to 15, five or six facilitators and a range of musical instruments (sometimes several per participant!), from the tin whistle to the Celtic harp with several instrumentless vocalists thrown in. Over the course of two three-hour workshops, held for the past couple of years at Holy Cross Elementary here in St. John’s, the kids and the facilitators have always managed to find or learn enough common repertoire to put on a pretty good concert.

band members are listed and photos enlarged here

I’ve been around for all of the concerts and almost all of the workshop sessions – my daughter Ellen is one of the kids who has been a participant in all of the YFATHs and is only just now old enough to attend on her own. I often wander in and out of the practice sessions while I wait for her, and I am always fascinated by the way the facilitators find just the right way to encourage their groups to learn new songs and work out arrangements of the ones they have in common.

One of this year’s facilitators was Stephanie Nash, who, along with Christina Smith, Dave Penny, Tom Power and Mike Hanrahan, provided advice and assistance to her group of five assorted musicians. This was Stephanie’s second year as a facilitator, but her fourth with YFATH – for two years she was a participant on the other side of the process. Stephanie still plays with some of the people she met at YFATH. She enjoyed the workshop’s approach as a participant. Once she had started at university (the cut-off for participants) she welcomed the opportunity to join the project as a facilitator. I should add that other local players and singers usually drop in, offering support, encouragement and help with the scattered chord.

I went to the concert, held at the LSPU Hall on the afternoon of Sunday, January 22, 2006. I thought that this year’s concert was particularly good – the luck of the draw (discreetly nudged by Fergus) had produced groups whose skill levels were well-balanced and who seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. There was a much wider repertoire this year than is often the case – I think there was only one – very well performed – rendition of “Mussels in the Corner”!

What do the kids think of it all? Well, I can only speak for my own child. Ellen looks forward to the YFATH workshops every year – it’s one of the few places where she meets other young people who value traditional music in the same way she does. I think that must often be the case for many of the participants, some of whom come in from as far away as Gander for the sessions. Thanks to Fergus, the facilitators and the SJFAC for providing this venue for them.

Mary Ellen Wright