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Frank learned violin at school from around age 9, thanks to Worcestershire county music service. He played only classical music until he went to University and met jazz and folk musicians and finding wider musical interests. He played in Keith Floyd’s restaurant in Hotwells, getting paid with bottles of wine and (delicious) food, and for theatre productions at the Edinburgh Festival and in Bristol.
After leaving university, he played in pit bands for various musicals, before beginning what became a lifelong career in sound engineering. He was sound operator on west-end musicals including “Annie” and “Les Miserables”, and worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company before becoming a freelance sound designer. He eventually had time to return to part time playing in a jazz-rock band called “Just Flying Kites” which played in pubs and festivals around London.
Frank moved to Chippenham with Pat, his wife to be, in 1990. There he met many folk musicians at pub sessions which led to forming several ceilidh/barn dance bands. Later he met John Dudley and started to play with “Pendragon”, by then a long established dance band in the south of England. This has been a great learning experience and a joy for the last 16 years.
Bruce Rosen and Frank first played together for an English/American dance weekend in Sigmaringen, Germany, organised by Ruth Allmayer in 2007. Frank is greatly looking forward to renewing their musical partnership at Eastbourne.
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Bruce has been part of Boston's contra and English country dance community since the mid-70s as a dancer and musician.
He plays contra dance piano in the Phantom Power band with Lissa Schneckenburger, with New York's The Fish Family, and with lots of other great New England-style fiddlers. Bruce also plays piano for English country dancing, appearing regularly in Jamaica Plain (MA), as well as other New England venues.
Bruce is part of Boston’s traditional music scene, playing guitar at Irish sessions and in performance with the West Newton Ceili Band, and driving the rhythm at Old Time music jams on the banjo ukelele.
In the early 90s, he took up the button accordion, playing for the Pinewoods Morris Men, Ha’Penny Morris, and the Commonwealth Morris Men. Bruce has collaborated on four recordings of New England contra dance music and is seen most years conducting the New England Folk Festival Orchestra. |
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