Students Explore Welsh Musical Heritage with Angharad Jenkins

Students from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) Creative Music Technology course recently had the opportunity to work with acclaimed Welsh fiddler, singer, and composer Angharad Jenkins in an innovative recording workshop exploring the intersection of traditional Welsh music and modern production techniques.

Angharad, a founding member of internationally touring folk band Calan, is recognised for her work across performance, improvisation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Her  work often explores how Welsh musical heritage can be reinterpreted in modern contexts, making her particularly interested in experimenting with historic instruments and new creative technologies.

During the session, students worked with two historic Welsh instruments, the Crwth and the Pibgorn, exploring how to record, sample, and creatively reimagine their sounds in a contemporary context.  As these instruments were new to Angharad herself, the workshop took on a highly exploratory approach, encouraging experimentation and creative risk-taking.

The workshop with Angharad plays an important role in reinforcing Welsh cultural identity within a contemporary creative education setting . The collaboration also aligns with wider College activity in celebrating Welsh language, culture and creativity. Taking place around St David’s Day, it provided an opportunity to highlight Welsh heritage within a contemporary creative context, while bringing a leading Welsh artist into the College to work directly with students.

The session provided valuable hands-on experience in studio recording environments, supporting key learning outcomes across the Creative Music Technology course. Students explored microphone techniques, sampling processes, and creative production approaches while developing original material rooted in traditional sound sources.

Angharad said: 

“The crwth is a new instrument for me. As a fiddle player who’s deeply interested in traditional Welsh music, it’s a natural progression, but I hadn’t fully got acquainted with the instrument - until today! It was a wonderfully liberating experience to explore the crwth in a recording studio setting, and to be able to listen with microscopic precision to what sounds and textures the crwth can offer. Rather than playing a set piece, I felt comfortable to freely improvise, and explore the natural timbres of the instrument. It was even more exciting to play with Pete Williams, to communicate with and bounce off his piano playing. There were some really beautiful and unexpected moments, which I’m glad were captured. And who knows, this may be one of the first recordings of a crwth and piano. I can’t wait to hear what the students come up with once they get their hands on the recordings and make them their own.”

David Bird, UWTSD’s Lecturer in Creative Music Technology said:

“Working with Angharad benefited all students across the course. Angharad is a seasoned professional and an exceptional musician and working with an artist of this calibre in a studio environment is an invaluable experience. It gave students direct insight into professional practice, collaboration, and how high-level musicians approach sound and performance.

“The focus on the crwth made this a particularly distinctive session. As we learned, there are very few crwth players, and it is extremely rare to record one in a professional studio setting. This gave students access to a historically significant and highly unusual sound source that they are unlikely to encounter elsewhere.”

Beyond its technical value, the workshop also reinforced the importance of celebrating Welsh culture within contemporary creative education. By engaging directly with traditional instruments as living and adaptable sound sources, students were encouraged to consider how cultural heritage can inform innovative creative practice.

This distinctive workshop encouraged students to think beyond conventional studio practices, demonstrating how traditional Welsh instruments can inspire fresh creative directions within modern music production. 

Student Kasia Sagatis said: 

“Angharad Jenkins came into our studio session, and it was honestly such a great experience.

“As soon as she started playing the crwth, everyone was hooked.  It’s not something you see every day, and she just lit up the room with how good she was.  She brought this old instrument into a modern setting and made it work so easily.”

For student Morgan Matthews: 

“The workshop with Angharad Jenkins was an amazing opportunity to explore the history of Welsh folk music and encouraged us to get hands on experience working with the Crwth. Angharad was very informative and kept us engaged whilst demonstrating techniques both traditional and contemporary. Allowing students to engage with these important parts of Welsh heritage encourages national identity within music and promotes the exploration of the history and culture of Wales.”

David Bird added:

“This was a genuinely exploratory session. Angharad is an incredibly skilled and accomplished musician and having the chance to work with someone of her calibre in a studio environment was hugely valuable for the students. Using the crwth as the basis for contemporary composition is not something you often encounter, and it opened a lot of creative possibilities. My hope is that students come away with the confidence to experiment more freely, and to see that even the most traditional or historic sound sources can be transformed into something entirely new.”

Further Information

Lowri Thomas

Principal Communications and PR Officer     
Corporate Communications and PR     
Email: lowri.thomas@uwtsd.ac.uk     
Phone: 07449 998476