Introducing Awen 

Awen Blandford is a session cellist, singer and Welsh speaker, who moved to Manchester to study at the Royal Northern College of Music. Originally a classical cellist, involved with folk music and the wider traditional cultural of Wales, Awen has collaborated with musicians from various genres in Manchester, forming her cello trio, Rowan, and seven-piece jazz-pop band, Bethlehem Casuals 

“Having those people, playing with them, it's just why I want to stay in Manchester. And other people as well. There’s lots of people in different bands and putting gigs on together, and collaborating with other artists as well, like dance and more visual artists. Yeah I just think it's a good scene to be in.” 

Awen’s Musical Life History 

Through playing cello and participating in cultural activities growing up in Wales, Awen became familiar with classical and folk musics. 

“I started playing when I was seven in youth orchestras. I was always involved in lots of the traditional, cultural activities of the Welsh community that we had going on in our town, Mold. And throughout Wales, there were lots of Welsh competitions and concerts (such as the Eisteddfod) to get involved in. And so, through that, I became interested in folk music.” 

The opportunity for Awen to collaborate with a variety of different musicians presented itself in Manchester. 

“Then I came to Manchester and collaborated with lots of musicians from different genres. And I really enjoyed, while at the College, playing with non-classical musicians and doing small collaborations, as well as forming a band, and playing more session stuff with the pop side. Since then, I've just continued to enjoy playing with different bands and artists.” 

One such collaboration, formed when Awen was at RNCM, was Le Chéile. 

“We started a really lovely trio, with my friend, Emma Masterson, she’s an Irish violinist, and then Steaph Chaimbeul, a Scottish harpist, she spoke Gaelic. And then I had been to a first-language Welsh school, so we had fun making arrangements of songs in Welsh and in Gaelic. It just felt so nice and refreshing to do that in Manchester when you're in like this mid-ground. I tried to seek out folk things as well like sessions where I met a lot of interesting people.” 

Awen maintains her interest in traditional culture in Manchester – having even performed with the Welsh choir run by a friend – and she continues to allow this to inform her music-making. 

“I joined a Manchester Welsh choir and we did one concert at the Welsh church in Didsbury and I didn't even know it was there and this was after five years! So many Welsh people came from across the city it was so nice.” 

“The cello trio I play with now, Ben’s Irish and Polly’s English, so we try and mix it up. Through improvisation we compose our own tunes that are inspired by folk tunes but also take influences from other places as well.” 

The Purpose and Motivations of Awen’s Music-Making 

“In our town we had twmpath, which are like céilís, so we had folk dances, but with all our own Welsh tunes. These tunes used to be pretty much invisible in Wales, unless you were part of a dance group but they have been revived a bit now. My parents were in a Welsh folk dance group and we used to travel around with them sometimes. And so, just growing up with that probably had an effect subconsciously, even though I wasn't necessarily playing the music so much (although sometimes I played with my dad and joined his folk band). And then coming to Manchester and seeing the lack of tradition in the city, just really, really made me want to play it more, because I felt so connected to Wales and being in a city which seemed completely unaware of these traditions, even though my hometown was only an hour away. I just thought, “Gosh, I really need to make the most of passing on that tradition”. Singing in Welsh as well is something I definitely want to do more of.” 

One of the areas Awen has developed since leaving college is playing without written music, something explored with her cello trio, Rowan. 

“We try and bring like a more folkie tune into it and more improvisation, so we create through improvising there.” 

Awen expands her performance and improvising skills across different genres with her band, Bethlehem Casuals. 

“The main concerts I do have been with my band actually. We formed in the RNCM and it was a mixture of people from the Classical course and Pop course. We have Will who studied composition, Atanas he was doing classical percussion but he loves to play different styles of percussion from around the world, so he brings a real twist into the band. And then we have a jazz saxophonist and three of my friends who were on the pop course who played bass, drums and guitar and so we all have a variety of different influences that feeds into our music. So yeah, we formed a band and we're still going now.” 

An important motivation for Awen’s music-making comes from the warmth of communities in Manchester that support live music and spread happiness amongst strangers and friends. 

“With the band, we love to just get everyone dancing and in good spirits, and just share our ideas when we get together. I just think collaborating is brilliant in any art form, especially here in Manchester.” 

“There's such a great variety of musicians. Coming from the classical world, I know lots of string players, but also really, really great session musicians and people who are starting their own projects. I started to play with this ensemble called the Untold Orchestra and which started as a small jazz group, and now it’s a fully formed orchestra who do sessions with other bands and local artists and so they’re constantly trying to bring people from Manchester together.” 

Music Collaborations in Manchester 

Awen remains keen to learn about, and from, other people in Manchester through music. 

“What’s lovely about folk music, in a broad sense, is that it's not about your ego. It's not about you. It's like you're a channel that the music passes through, you’re passing on the music. And just people being aware of carrying on traditions and learning from other people’s traditions is really important, it’s a part of our identity. I think that's something that we can definitely do here because it’s so multicultural.” 

With her instrument, Awen sees new musical avenues to travel down. 

“Singing and playing cello, I think is something I really want to do more of, because it's often just an accompanying or melody instrument. People are often focused on getting a spot in an orchestra but the reality is that it’s a competitive industry and there’s a lot of scope to do other things with the cello and have fun with it.” 

Awen credits a supportive, bustling music scene in Manchester, for forming friendships and creating new, exciting music. 

“People look out for each other. And people are always asking friends to get involved with stuff and there's constantly different projects to get involved with.” “It's such a great community and playing with different people and getting to collaborate with so many people. It’s such a nice friendly community in Manchester, not too big but not too small. It's just so fun.”