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Staff Profile

Nancy Kerr Elliott

Lecturer in Folk and Traditional Music

Background

Multiple BBC award-winning folk musician Nancy Kerr has been described as “One of the UK’s foremost composers of modern folk and social commentary songs” (Royal Shakespeare Company) and “Folk’s Poet-Laureate” (Folk Radio UK).

Research

Co-Investigator on the AHRC-funded research project 'Music, Heritage, Place: Unlocking the Collections of England's County Record Offices':

https://royalholloway.ac.uk/research-and-teaching/departments-and-schools/music/research/research-projects-and-centres/music-heritage-place/


Previous Research Partnerships:

  • Transmitting Musical Heritage (University of Sheffield 2013 AHRC-funded)
  • Mastering Creativity (Leeds Conservatoire Staff/Alumnus HE Research Project 2019)

Since 2012 Nancy has contributed to at least 1 major UK funded commission for newly-composed work per year, leading to portfolios of published and creative outputs.

  • 2012 The Olympic Games Radio Ballads Going for Gold – Commissioned BBC Radio 2
  • 2013 The Full English – Commissioned EFDSS; Winner: Best Album and Best Group BBC Folk Awards 2014 
  • 2014 The Elizabethan Session – Commissioned Hatfield House
  • 2015/16 Sweet Liberties – Commissioned Houses of Parliament
  • 2017/18 Shake the Chains – Commissioned Folk by the Oak
  • 2019 Garrick’s Jubilee – Commissioned Shakespeare Birthplace Trust 

    (Funding bodies include PRS Foundation, Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund)

  • 2020/21 BTS 50th Anniversary – Commissioned British Tunnelling Society (in production)
  • 2022 Sheffield Lakeland Song Project

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Teaching

Nancy is a folk educator with over 25 years’ teaching experience in both formal and informal education settings. She qualified in Clinical Music Therapy with Professor Leslie Bunt at Bristol University, and continues to practice as a therapeutically-informed community musician in a range of settings. Nancy has led workshops and choirs and taught 1:1 at festivals, residential courses, schools and universities in the UK, Australia, Canada, Europe and Asia. Her music psychotherapy background informs her practice as a facilitator of client-led music-making throughout the lifespan. Nancy was awarded Hon. Prof of Composition & Performance at Leeds Conservatoire in 2021. At The University of Sheffield she facilitated Music Masterclasses at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, examining the reception of personal narratives via song-writing with final year medical students. She has been guest tutor for the National Youth Folk Ensemble (NYFE) and workshop leader/adjudicator for the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, and continues to work as Stagecraft Mentor for English Folk Expo and Brighter Sounds UK as part of their emerging artists support schemes.


Subject areas include:

Creative Practice Research

Traditions of these Islands

Folk Ensemble

Applied Songwriting & Composition (Folk & Modal)

Folk Music, Gender & Identity

Supervision:

Major/minor composition

Major/minor dissertation/project

PG:

Music Education, Community & Wellbeing


Publications