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; she qualified as a primary teacher and as well as teaching has experience as a youth adviser, in homelessness support, volunteer and artist team management over 20 years at a range of festivals, 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 at The Sage Gateshead and completing a BMus in 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’.