Ellie joins us as Harmony Works’ Engagement Officer. She made Sheffield her home in 2014, having previously lived in Northamptonshire, Newcastle and Mwanza in Tanzania. She’s had a diverse work history to date, ranging from primary teaching, youth advice, homelessness support, volunteer management, librarianship, pop up theatre and community choir leading.

Her mum joined a Cotswolds Morris Team when she was three and she’s been involved in folk music ever since, running folk choirs, projects for FolkWorks, running artist teams at festivals and studying Folk and Traditional Music at Newcastle University. She also studied classical and jazz voice, was a member of Northern Sinfonia Chorus and has a great love of musical theatre. She even got to the last 500 potential Nancys in the BBCs’ ‘I’d Do Anything’. (She says she thinks they weren’t ready for a Nancy who couldn’t act or dance…).

Ellie is passionate about extending musical education and experiences to all – many of the best moments of her life have been connected to her musical opportunities – and is looking forward to seeing what musical collaborations arise once Harmony Works is open. As well as her musical interests, she’s a keen maker of things – crochet, weaving, printmaking, embroidery to name a few and is interested in exploring the connections between traditional musics and ‘women’s crafts’.