Successful Applicants 2024

Chair of the trustees Dave Cowing said: “This year, the field of applicants was exceptional with more than 120 submissions, making it incredibly hard for the trustees to choose just four recipients from such a worthy and wide ranging field.

“The grants for this year’s recipients will undoubtedly have a significant impact on their personal musical development and careers. The projects involved will enable traditional folk music to reach new audiences, something Alan was passionate about. His legacy lives on with another year of awards and we’re sure he would be delighted with the outcome of another successful round of grant giving.”

Find out more about the 2024 recipients:

Rhiannon Kenny

Rhiannon has been awarded a grant on behalf of her duo Wychbury. Their grant will be used to purchase a sampler and percussion pad to enhance live performances and the cost of recording, mixing and mastering their debut EP of traditional and original material that fuses folk melodies with electronic production.

Rhiannon said:

“We are thrilled to received a grant from the Alan Surtees Trust. This generous support will enable us to elevate our music and live performances to new heights. We are incredibly grateful to the trust for selecting us and for its continuous support of artists. We can’t wait to showcase our project and bring our vision to life.” 

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Juliette Lemoine

Trad cellist Juliette Lemoine will use her grant to fund her attendance at the exclusive Shasta Music Summit in California where she will receive mentoring and one-on-one tuition from some of the sector’s leading players.

Juliette said:

“I’m incredibly grateful to the Alan Surtees Trust for their generous support. This grant will allow me to take up the opportunity to travel to California to study with cellist Tristan Clarridge, one of my all-time musical heroes, at the Shasta Music Summit.

This will inevitably have a significant impact on my playing and musical development –– thank you so much for helping me turn this dream into a reality, and for all of the work you do to support young folk artists!”

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Laura Sutcliffe

Musician and poet Laura Sutcliffe will use her award to purchase a microphone set and portable PA system, fund the costs of artist and collaborator fees for recording music she has created linked to an illustrated collection of her poetry and to perform four music and poetry gigs at Yorkshire Rewilding Networking hubs.

Laura said:

“I am delighted to have received this grant from the Alan Surtees Trust and am extremely grateful for the opportunity it gives me to develop my project. The grant will enable me to buy technical equipment to record an album of my own folk tunes and songs, to be included within my new illustrated poetry collection, ‘As the Flow Cries’. The grant will also support me in my gigs with the Yorkshire Rewilding Network.

I can’t wait to get started on this album and share my passion for nature appreciation and restoration, as well as celebrating ‘wildness’!”

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Gareth Swindail-Parry

Welsh triple harpist Gareth Swindail-Parry will put his grant towards the purchase of microphones for recording his debut album of music on the Welsh triple harp inspired by the folk stories of the Herefordshire area and the production of CDs.

Gareth said:

“To say I am excited would be such an understatement! The opportunity that the Alan Surtees Trust is offering me is huge – the chance to purchase the microphones and materials to create a debut album that tells the stories of Herefordshire through a uniquely Welsh lens, and years ahead of recording the music and stories of the Welsh and Welsh-Romany traditions to share with generations to come.

This will have such a fantastic impact on my career as a musician and storyteller and allow me to play a significant role in preserving a culturally significant part of Welsh musical heritage. I can’t wait to make this album and share my music with you all. Diolch/Thank you!”

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