The Rooted Suite
In 2015, Cream Tees produced a new suite of music inspired by the history and heritage of Teesdale’s landscape.
Working with tutors Ian Stephenson and Sophy Ball, and guided by project co-creator Neil Diment in his role as a heritage interpretation specialist, the group visited iconic places across Teesdale to compose their new suite of music.
They then retired to their spiritual home at The Hub in Barnard Castle, where they began to put their experiences into musical form and produced a variety of tunes and ideas with Ian and Sophy.
The tunes were then arranged by Ian and Sophy into a through-composed piece, and the band rehearsed the new composition at a residential workshop at Langdon Beck Youth Hostel. The group met again at The Hub in October to record their new piece of music, which the band then named Rooted – A Teesdale Suite.
Cream Tees recording Rooted at The Hub, Barnard Castle. (Photos: Paul Place)
After recording a CD of their compositions, the last thing was to throw a big concert to celebrate the band’s achievements. The night, held at The Witham in Barnard Castle, was a chance for our young musicians to shine alongside folk luminaries like Martin Carthy, our own project team’s Mike Bettison and Rosie Cross, as well as welcoming to the stage one of the eldest remaining folk musicians in Teesdale, Septimus Forcett.
A short film by Jim Woodland of Blaize Community Arts about the making of the composition