Location

Okehampton, Devon

Specialisms

Folk songs, arranging, composing, performing running folk choirs including MenSing

Additional information

Paul Wilson

Alongside his international performing work, Paul has an illustrious career as a folk music educator. With Marilyn Tucker, he is co-founder of Wren Music, which has become a highly respected organisation serving thousands of participants each year. Wren works across the South West of England and further afield in a huge variety of settings developing a sense of identity, place and history through the folk songs and music of the region. He has served on the committee of Sound Sense and the Music Manifesto Partnership and Advocacy Group and worked closely with Sing Up and Vocal Force.

The Wren Music programme in Devon has been highly successful now running folk choirs across the county and visiting Exeter Cathedral and Sidmouth Folk Festival for Big Sings bringing members of these choirs together. All Wren’s choirs are run on open access lines and embrace natural voice principles.

Paul gives talks and writes articles regularly based on this work. For example he has edited Come Sing For The Season – Exmoor Carols for folk choirs, reviewed the Faber folk song publication and undertaken a music directing role in a 6-nation, 2-year European folk choirs project. He has developed training strands for teachers and performers alike and works regularly at every level of the school system and in further and higher education.

With Marilyn Tucker he has written a 20,000 word chapter on Folk Choirs In England for the academic volume English Folk Performance (pub. RKP 2021).  He has played a central role in getting the Sabine Baring Gould folk song collection digitised and has collected folk songs himself over the last 30 years. He directs and has been awarded an honorary MA from Plymouth University.

He has presented at a couple of Natural Voice gatherings and enjoys networking with other choir leaders. He runs MenSing a group for anyone who identifies as male to sing, share and connect. The repertoire traditional folk and newly written pieces featuring songs of courage, kindness and connection.

Paul Wilson
E – wilsonpaulmichael@gmail.com