Frankie Armstrong

Voice workshop at Tate Modern
2022-06-10 00:00 - 2022-06-11 00:00 (Europe/London) | Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG
June 10-11 Voice workshop as part of International Festival run by TPT (The Performance Theatre) at Tate Modern

Voice Leader Modular Training (Part 2)
2022-07-01 00:00 - 2022-07-04 00:00 | The Gasworks Studio, 27 Narroways Rd,, St. Werburghs, Bristol, BS2 9XB, United Kingdom
1st to 4th July 2022

Voice workshops and concerts at Sidmouth Folk Festival
2022-08-02 00:00 - 2022-08-03 00:00 | Sidmouth Folk Festival, Sidmouth, EX10 8XR
Frankie will be taking part in Sidmouth Folk Festival, (July 29-August 5)

Keynote presentation at AoMO International Conference Liverpool
2022-08-18 08:00 - 17:00
Voicing Activism
Frankie Armstrong – Keynote talk
at AOMO Conference, Liverpool , Thursday 18th August
History and Future of The Art of Management and Organization Conference

Why is it we talk about a people, an oppressed minority, or indeed an oppressed majority (women) “finding their voice”?
From the suffragettes, through the anti-apartheid movement and Greenham Common and many other political movements, it is raising their voices together that has helped them both to keep in the struggle and to be heard. It may be an individual voice such as Victor Hara in Chile, or the collective voices of the children of Soweto, but it is the quality of the voice that called to Frankie. It was Pete Seeger in the 1950s that stirred Frankie into this realisation, with songs that spoke to both the head and the heart.
Since then she has been singing songs that are an expression of working people, songs from women’s lives, songs of people struggling against oppression, of daughters against tyrannical fathers (in the folk tradition), and about the environment or social inequality.
In 1975, she began running voice workshops. Her teaching is aimed at helping others find the same sense of energy and power of communication that she experienced as a solo singer.
In her keynote presentation, she’ll also speak about her feeling that the beauty and power expressed through voice can engage the artistry available to all of us.
Why is it we talk about a people, an oppressed minority, or indeed an oppressed majority (women) “finding their voice”?
From the suffragettes, through the anti-apartheid movement and Greenham Common and many other political movements, it is raising their voices together that has helped them both to keep in the struggle and to be heard. It may be an individual voice such as Victor Hara in Chile, or the collective voices of the children of Soweto, but it is the quality of the voice that called to Frankie. It was Pete Seeger in the 1950s that stirred Frankie into this realisation, with songs that spoke to both the head and the heart.
Since then she has been singing songs that are an expression of working people, songs from women’s lives, songs of people struggling against oppression, of daughters against tyrannical fathers (in the folk tradition), and about the environment or social inequality.
In 1975, she began running voice workshops. Her teaching is aimed at helping others find the same sense of energy and power of communication that she experienced as a solo singer.
In her keynote presentation, she’ll also speak about her feeling that the beauty and power expressed through voice can engage the artistry available to all of us.

Workshop at AOMO Conference
2022-08-18 10:00
Finding Our Voices as Activists
Workshop – with Frankie Armstrong and Darien Pritchard
at AOMO Conference, Liverpool, Thursday 18th August
History and Future of The Art of Management and Organization Conference

How can we keep our energy and our commitment to activism going at a time such as this? By raising our voices together.
We need a belief in our right to make ourselves heard, and we need to find a full-bodied voice that matches our desire to be heard. This workshop is designed to help everyone (regardless of past experience) to find a free, powerful and expressive voice. Frankie, a singer and voice teacher, will be joined by her partner Darien Pritchard, a massage and flexibility teacher, to explore how using the body and breath contribute to finding a vibrant voice, combining ease with power.
We aim to create an enjoyable, supportive ,nonjudgemental atmosphere – with the emphasis on exploration, discovery and play – not “getting it right”. No prior experience is required, just wear loose comfortable clothes for gentle exercises, and bring a water bottle and an open heart and mind.
Frankie has been helping people to ‘find’ their voices for 47 years, as well as being a singer in the peace, women’s and social justice movements since the 1960s.
Workshop: 10am to 1pm, 18th August 2022
Tickets: £50
For further information and Bookings: please contact Darien Pritchard darien.pritchard@gmail.com

Concert spots and workshops at Whitby Folk Week
2022-08-20 00:00 - 2022-08-26 00:00 | Whitby Folk Week, Whitby, West Yorkshire
Frankie will be featuring in concerts and will also run voice workshops

Songs to Stir Action for Peace (Live on Zoom)
2022-10-06 19:30 - 22:30
Frankie Armstrong and Friends, featuring Peggy Seeger, Jim Woodland, Davies and Daughters, and Boff Whalley and The Commoners Choir.
This promises to be a great evening and we are especially delighted that Peggy Seeger, another of our long-standing MPD Patrons, has generously agreed to take part. Frankie and Peggy go back a very long way, from when they first sang anti-Vietnam War songs together, so it will be an exciting moment to have these two legendary activists and folk singers back on the same platform – albeit virtual!
Peggy has scarcely had time to draw breath since returning earlier this year from a hugely successful ‘First Farewell’ tour with her son, Calum MacColl, in which she travelled all round Britain and Ireland, performing a total of 43 concerts.
More are planned in September with her other son, Neill.
Also performing in this concert will be:
Jim Woodland, singer, songwriter and playwright.
Davies and Daughters, a family female a capella trio singing songs from the British and European folk traditions in their own unique harmony arrangements, as well as original songs. They sing in folk clubs, festivals, climate emergency events and recently at peace vigils for Ukraine.
Boff Whalley and the Commoners Choir, a remarkable community choir from Leeds tackling social injustice in all its forms. The choir’s founder, Boff Whalley is a musician and writer, former lead guitarist of Chumbawamba and currently working on a project with Welsh National Opera.

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Voice Leaders Training (Residential week)
2022-10-21 18:30 - 2022-10-28 14:00 | Kinnersley Castle, Kinnersley Castle, Kinnersley, Hereford, HR3 6QF
Led by Frankie and Sarah Harman, with visiting tutor Darien Pritchard
details training page

DATES: 21st to 28th October 2022
TIMES: The course starts with supper at 6.30pm on the first day. You can arrive from 4pm to settle into your room. We finish after lunch, at 2pm the final day.
VENUE: Kinnersley Castle, Kinnersley, Hereford, HR3 6QF
COST: The total course fee is £1470. This consists of:
A non-refundable deposit of £300 to reserve your place. Final payment to be paid 8 weeks before the course starts.
ACCOMMODATION: Accommodation is in twin or single rooms in the Abbey’s guest house. Bathrooms are shared and some rooms have sinks.
FOOD: is delicious, freshly cooked vegetarian.
For Special Diets, contact the Abbey at least one week before the course. Abbey Sutton Courtenay, 01235 847401 admin@theabbey.uk.com
ACCESS: For access enquiries, contact Abbey Sutton Courtenay direct.
LOCATION: Detailed information on Abbey Sutton Courtenay can be found on their website www.theabbey.uk.com. The nearest bus and train stations are at Didcot Parkway (from where a taxi or bus can be taken). We will give you fellow parti- cipant’s contact details close to the course time to facilitate lift sharing.

Frankie hopes to be in Australia!
2022-11-05 00:00 - 2023-01-31 00:00
Frankie hopes to be in Australia from 5th November 2022 to 31st January 2023
Where there will be some workshop and concert events
If you have any enquiries please email Frankie.

Session 1 (of 3): The Earth in our Voices
2023-03-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
Across three sessions, Frankie and Darien Pritchard will be running their Body, Breath, Voice course online, developed during the pandemic. Each session is 2 hours long. This will be the 12th of this popular series that Frankie and Darien have run together.
£45 for 3 sessions
Further information as a PDF here Body-breath-voice March 23

International Women’s Day concert
2023-03-08 00:00 | Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London, NW1 7AY, United Kingdom
Frankie will be performing as part of Thank Folk for Feminism @ Cecil Sharp House in London.

Session 2 (of 3) : Letting the Breath In, Letting the Voice Out Online
2023-03-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
Running across three sessions, Frankie and Darien Pritchard will be running their popular Body, Breath, Voice course online, developed during the pandemic. Each session is 2 hours long.This will be the 12th of this popular series that Frankie and Darien have run together.
£45 for 3 sessions
Further information as a PDF here Body-breath-voice March 23

Weekend workshop with Frankie and Kate Valentine
2023-03-17 00:00 - 2023-03-19 00:00 | Emerson College, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5JX, United Kingdom
Weekend workshop with Frankie and Kate Valentine
Training for Singing Mamas
Contact: info@singingmamaschoir.com

Session 3 (of 3): Let your Voice Soar
2023-03-24 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
Running across three sessions, Frankie and Darien Pritchard will be running their popular Body, Breath, Voice course online, developed during the pandemic. Each session is 2 hours long. This will be the 12th of this popular series that Frankie and Darien have run together.
£45 for 3 sessions
Further information as a PDF here Body-breath-voice March 23

Modular Voice Leader Training - Part 1 (of 2)
2023-04-28 14:00 - 2023-05-01 15:30 | The Gasworks Studio, 27 Narroways Rd,, St. Werburghs, Bristol, BS2 9XB, United Kingdom
More details here

Our Favourite Things: A Celebration of Voice and Movement
2023-05-08 09:30 - 2023-05-12 14:00 | Kinnersley Castle, Kinnersley Castle, Kinnersley, Hereford, HR3 6QF
Frankie and Darien Pritchard will be running a five day workshop made up of their favourite body, breath, voice activities, sourced from their many years of experience working individually and together, to turn this week into a celebration of voice and movement.
A maximum 10 participants so book early.
The cost of the course is £750 which includes the workshops and residential expenses.
For more information view PDF here Favourite things – May 23

Body-Breath-Voice online, Session 1 of 3
2023-06-09 10:00 - 12:30 | Online
(other dates are June 16th, June 23rd)
We would like people to commit to all three sessions.
The Earth in our Voices : This session focuses on the importance of feeling ‘grounded’ (exploring the role of the lower half of the body) for our voices to flow freely through our whole body. Our ancestors lived closer to the earth, which gave their voices power and depth. We will use exercises, and songs and chants from cultures that still have this relationship to the earth.

Body-Breath-Voice online, Session 2 of 3
2023-06-16 10:00 - 12:30 | Online
We would like people to commit to all three sessions.
Letting the Breath In, Letting the Voice Out : It is self evident that our lungs and breath are crucial to giving full, expressive voice. Yet so many of us have restricted breathing, often without realising it, in our sedentary culture. We will use exercises to free our ribs, spine and hence lungs. This increases awareness of the diaphragm muscle, and of how this, together with the abdominal muscles, gives strength, stamina and resonance to the voice without strain. We will also play with exercises and songs that encourage increasing our range and ability to sustain sound.

Body-Breath-Voice online, Session 3 of 3
2023-06-23 10:00 - 12:30 | Online
We would like people to commit to all three sessions.
Let your Voice Soar: Most of us find ourselves with more tension than we might like in our throat and jaw. This session focuses on freeing the shoulders, neck, tongue, throat and jaw to help liberate sound and song.

Modular Voice Leader Training Part 2 (of 2)
2023-06-30 14:00 - 2023-07-03 15:30 | The Gasworks Studio, 27 Narroways Rd,, St. Werburghs, Bristol, BS2 9XB, United Kingdom
More info here

Benefit Concert
2023-07-11 19:30 - 22:30 | Saint Germans Chrch, Metal Street, Cardiff, CF24 0JY, United Kingdom
Benefit Concert To Help Women in Crisis Far and Near
With:
Bread and Roses – Frankie Armstrong, Laura Bradshaw and Pauline Down
Bread and Roses is a feisty, folky, three-piece female voice and instrumental ensemble, with a passion for singing to promote change. We are Frankie Armstrong, Laura Bradshaw and Pauline Down.
The Oasis One World Choir
Oasis One World Choir is a community arts project welcoming people who have been displaced from parts of the world (due to oppression and violence) into a new community. We learn about and share different music and culture as we go.
The Oasis One World Youth Project
The Oasis One World Choir youth project have stunned us all with their fun, creativity and innovation and have created videos and performances to share their creations. We are delighted to share the rich and diverse culture that binds the choirs together in song.
Cath Little StoryTeller
Cath Little is a story teller who will be joining. Cath has a strong belief in the power of stories to connect us to one another, to the land, and to the people who once lived here.
We suggest a donation of £8 if you are able to afford this – otherwise any amount will be welcome. Donations will go to Care International, which focuses on crucial help for women and children in crisis due to war and natural disasters and Cardiff Women’s Aid who are a women’s equality organisation which exists to eradicate violence against women and girls and to support survivors.
There will be snacks available!

"Human Library”, Green Man Festival (Saturday)
2023-08-06 11:00 - 14:00 | Green Man Fesival, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, NP8 1LP
Frankie will be at the Einstein garden tent, at the Green Man Festival (on Friday and Saturday, 11am-2pm), as a ‘living resource (to talk to), and will also be singing at the Greenham camp.

"Human Library”, Green Man Festival (Friday)
2023-08-18 11:00 - 14:00 | Green Man Fesival, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, NP8 1LP

Thanks Folk for Feminism
2023-09-13 19:00 - 21:30 | Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London, NW1 7AY, United Kingdom
Thank Folk For Feminism and the English Folk Dance and Song Society present a second pop up folk club following the success of their first.

Hosts Lucy Ward and Pinky Ward invite you to spend the evening in their specially curated pop-up folk club with three fantastic artists: Nancy Kerr, Angeline Morrison and Frankie Armstrong!
This event will be streamed by Live To Your Living Room.
Thank Folk For Feminism is a platform for women’s voices and to further the conversations of both folk and feminism and explore how the two intersect. It is fun and uplifting but also at its core, Thank Folk For Feminism serves to encourage the folk scene to explore intersectional feminist issues and increase the range and diversity of women’s voices within the genre.

Voice Leader Training
2023-10-13 08:00 - 2023-10-20 17:00 | Kinnersley Castle, Kinnersley Castle, Kinnersley, Hereford, HR3 6QF

Adventures in Voice - Imagination
2023-10-27 10:00 - 12:00 | Zoom
Three sessions of 2 hours each (On Zoom) exploring the voice (maximum of 15 people) Fridays: 10am-12 noon – £45 for all three sessions; or £18 each
The themes are:

Imagination – bringing voice and song fully alive – 27th October 2023
ReWilding the Voice – 3rd November 2023
Voices of the Archetypes of Myth -10th November 2023

Imagination – bringing voice and song fully alive (27th October)
Bringing imagination to bear, whether in ‘warmups’ or song interpretation, brings qualities to the voice that ‘paint’ the meaning and mood of a song. Frankie offers some of the exercises and explorations that she has developed to help people bring the voice and songs fully to life.
ReWilding the Voice (3rd November)
A chance to play with breath, shakes, hiccups, yodels and slides, and improvise around the sounds we hear in other cultures that allow for more freedom and flexibility in their singing. We use songs and voices from around the world to inspire us to discover different timbres, ornamentation and scales from those we may be most familiar with. This is not about learning songs, rather it involves exploring vocal styles, such as snake lullabies, goat milking songs, mountain hollers, and of course working in the fields. There is no right or wrong, just the joy of exploration.
Voices of the Archetypes of Myth (10th November) An exciting way to expand vocal colour, range and expressivity. General body-breath-voice preparation leads into specific preparation for the particular Archetype/s to be explored using movement, visualisation, imagination and vocal exploration. Frankie then guides you through a story (the journey) which gives you the opportunity to inhabit the larger-than-life world of the timeless figures of mythology and legend and to discover the vocal qualities that they evoke.
For more information or to book: contact Frankie on 029 2048 0429
frankiearmstrong45@gmail.com or Darien on darien.pritchard@gmail.com
For Frankie’s biography, please look at: https://www.frankiearmstrong.uk/about/

Adventures in Voice - ReWilding the Voice
2023-11-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Zoom

Adventures in Voice - Voices of the Archetypes of Myth
2023-11-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Zoom

Cellar Upstairs Folk Club
2024-01-08 20:00 - 23:30 | Cellarupstairs, Alpaca, 84-86 Essex Road, London, N1 8LU, United Kingdom
Frankie Armstrong has been singing professionally since 1964, and has sung and run workshops all over Europe, North America and Australia, working in every kind of setting from hospitals to the National Theatre in London. She began running her pioneering voice workshops, based on ethnic styles of singing – where singing is as natural as speaking – in 1975, and is the president of the Natural Voice Network. Her singing of the big traditional ballads is famous, but she also performs political, lyrical and comic songs, among others; www.frankiearmstrong.com
Access: The club is in an upstairs room
Entrance: Pay on the door (cash only), no need to book. Members: £7, non-members: £9, except on nights marked *, when it will be £8 and £10 respectively.
Information: e-mail cellarupstairs@aol.com, organiser 020 7281 77

Rewilding the Voice, Brisbane
2024-02-02 08:00 - 17:00
Rewilding the Voice
24th March 2024, 10am – 4pm
The Women’s Space, Brisbane
