Talk: Wiltshire Women & Music: From the Archives to the Airwaves

Wiltshire Women & Music: From the Archives to the Airwaves. Nancy Kerr and Lucy Whitfield in conversation.

Lucy Whitfield is a genealogist, historian, and author of the Extraordinary Ordinary Women of Wiltshire book series. Nancy Kerr is Co-Investigator on the AHRC project Music, Heritage, Place, which is unlocking the musical collections within English County records.
They recently joined forces as part of the 10-part BBC Radio 3 series The Song Detectorists, available on BBC Sounds and nominated for Best Documentary at the New York Radio Festival Awards.

Join these two researchers in conversation to hear how they have been bringing to life some of the songs & tunes, cures, recipes and other remnants of women’s lives found in our historical archives – with a special focus on Chippenham and Wiltshire.
This organic, informal presentation aims to provoke thought, invite your questions, and perhaps even get you singing some local musical gems.

Nancy Kerr is one of England’s most celebrated contemporary folk artists and composers. Her songs are widely sung by other artists and choirs in the UK and abroad. She won BBC Radio 2 “Folk Singer of the Year “ in 2015. She has recorded and toured with James Fagan, Eliza Carthy, The Full English, Simpson Cutting Kerr, Tim van Eyken, Sāwol, Rob Harbron, Melrose Quartet, Luke Daniels, The Magpie Arc and many other collaborations. She is highly regarded both as a fiddle player and a singer-songwriter, but also has a deep love of traditional song. The daughter of songwriter Sandra Kerr and Northumbrian piper Ron Elliott, Nancy also is a qualified music therapist and a folk academic, former Professor at Leeds College of Music and currently Lecturer at the University of Newcastle. She’s co-investigator on the nationwide research project “Music, Heritage, Place” in partnership with Royal Holloway University, uncovering hidden musical gems in the County Records archives.