Folkworks Summer Schools 2026 - Tutor Biographies
Our Folkworks Summer Schools are all about the people who make them special and we’re really excited to introduce the tutor team for 2026.
Led by Musical Director Grace Smith, our tutors are brilliant folk musicians who love sharing music and helping young people grow in confidence. Across the week, they’ll support all young people to learn tunes and songs, play together in groups, try out dance, and explore folk music in a friendly, encouraging environment.
Scroll down to meet the tutors and find out a bit more about each of them and their musical journeys.
For full details about the course, dates, age groups and how to apply, head to the Folkworks Summer Schools 2026 page.
Alice Allen
Alice Allen is a cellist from Banchory, Aberdeenshire, and is now based in rural Stirlingshire. She was formerly young artist in residence with the Scottish Ensemble and has performed live on BBC Radio 3 and Radio Scotland. Alice has recorded with many leading folk artists including former BBC young traditional musician of the year Robyn Stapleton. Alice’s playing has taken her to the BBC Proms, the Wigmore Hall, Europe and India and she has worked with many of the country’s leading performing groups including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble, Concerto Calendonia, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and London Concertante. She is a regular at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections and has recorded with an extensive list of Scotland’s traditional music bands and artists. She is one half of The Strathspey Queens, with fiddler Patsy Reid and one third of folk trio Lyre.
Alex Lyon
Alex Lyon is an eclectic, cross-genre musician and teacher based in London, who moves between contemporary music, free improvisation, and folk musics. Her versatile playing style is reflected in a diverse collaborative portfolio.
She is a member of the award-winning global folk collective Mishra, whose collaborative album Turn O’ Spinning Wheel, with Indian classical vocalist Deepa Shakthi, was released in Autumn 2025. As both a clarinettist and vocalist, Alex has performed at major festivals including Glastonbury, Celtic Connections, and Cambridge Folk Festival.
Her work as a session musician has led to experience recording and performing with a range of groups and artists, including Anoushka Shankar, Katie Spencer, Iona Lane, Spafford Campbell, and The London Bollywood Orchestra. She has performed at leading venues across the UK and Europe, including Southbank Centre, Union Chapel, Café OTO, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Kings Place, and the Brighton Dome.
Alex is also a dedicated and accomplished teacher, working regularly with Sheffield-based charity, Concerteenies and throughout London as a varied and in-demand practitioner. She is a graduate of the University of Sheffield where she was awarded the Mrs Stewart Blake Recital prize, and Trinity Laban Conservatoire where she was awarded the MMus prize.
Grace Smith
Grace Smith is a fiddle and viola player and is the Musical Director for the 2026 Folkworks Summer Schools. Her band, the Grace Smith Trio, released their debut album ‘Overleaf’ in Autumn 2023 to great critical reception; in their review of ‘Overleaf’, Folk Radio UK said; “If you’re looking for the exciting future of instrumental folk music, you need search no further.” Since 2025 she has played in a duo with Sam Sweeney, and with string quartet ‘Methera’. She is also in French dance band, Cri du Canard, and plays with Katie Doherty & the Navigators.
Grace is a dedicated music educator and is in high demand as a tutor. She has led Folkworks Summer Schools since 2023, and has taught in many settings for a wide range of ages and experience levels, including for National Youth Folk Ensemble, Greater Manchester Youth Folk Ensemble, North East Fiddle School, Newcastle University, Cambridge Folk Festival Hub Band, Halsway Manor, Fosbrook Folk Education Trust, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company, Band on the Wall, and music hubs across the country, as well as having mentored on the Music Masters PGCEi course.
Jon Doran
Jon Doran is a multi-instrumentalist and educator from the UK. He was a 2019 finalist on BBC Radio 2’s Young Folk Awards and a recent winner of Bromyard Folk Festival’s ‘Future of Folk’ competition.
He’s best known for his work in the award winning folk duo Janice Burns & Jon Doran, they’ve toured extensively throughout the UK and Europe and collaborated with the likes of FAUN and The Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Their recent albums No More the Green Hills, and Great Joy to the New received high praise, finding their places in the Official UK Folk Chart and the Official UK download chart. Both albums have featured heavily on BBC Radio 2, the duo have also played their songs for live sessions for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio Scotland. His new trio, Jon Doran & The Northern Assembly, are quickly following in these tracks with their recent debut EP.
Jon is also involved as the fiddle player for Ruth Notman in her new band, and an Irish bouzouki player for a new project alongside fellow bouzouki players, Benji Kirkpatrick (Bellowhead), and James Fagan (Nancy Kerr & James Fagan).
As an educator, Jon is committed to focusing on the individual needs of the musician. He’s a much sought after teacher and a dedicated workshop leader at festivals and residentials including Cambridge Folk Festival’s Hub Band, Halsway Manor, and Sidmouth Folk Festival. He also teaches regularly at Newcastle University, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, and he’s the current musical director of a community folk choir in Morpeth.
Rob Harbron
Rob Harbron is an English concertina virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist known for his work with Leveret, Emily Portman, Jon Boden, Fay Hield and many others. Described by The Guardian as a ‘concertina wizard’, he has developed a unique playing style and honed a rare knack for writing evocative and transporting tunes.
He is one third of English instrumental trio Leveret, with whom he has recorded six albums and toured extensively. His album with Emily Portman, Time Was Away, was released in 2022 to critical acclaim; he is a longstanding member of Jon Boden’s Remnant Kings and was a member of The Full English with whom he won Best Group and Best Album at the 2014 BBC Radio Folk Awards. He leads the English Acoustic Collective Summer School and has been a key tutor of the National Youth Folk Ensemble since its inception.
Rowan Rheingans
Rowan Rheingans is an award-winning fiddle player, banjoist, songwriter and theatre-maker best known for her work with acclaimed folk bands Lady Maisery and The Rheingans Sisters. Rowan has won two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and is a six-times nominee and in 2021 was awarded a Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers. Alongside her performing and writing career, Rowan is a passionate and ambitious fiddle teacher, attuned to each students’ unique musical histories, influences and interests.