Groups & ensembles

The National Youth Folk Ensemble celebrates excellence in youth folk music, bringing together talented young folk musicians from across England to create and perform inspiring new arrangements of folk music and work with leading folk artists. 

The Kinetika Bloco is a performance group with an exuberant mix of young brass and woodwind players, drummers, steel pan and dynamic dancers all in costume creating a ‘unique new British Carnival sound with a decidedly London edge’ (BBC Radio2).

We draw our influences from the Caribbean, Brazil, West and Southern Africa, New Orleans jazz, Funk and Hip Hop. Our members create the work with a team of professional tutors and help to lead the organization. Our achievements include: performances at Notting Hill Carnival, Bestival and London Jazz Festival; headlining the Roundhouse; performing for Nelson Mandela who called us ‘enchanting’; representing the UK at Beijing Olympic Festival; leading Team GB in the London 2012 Victory Parade; collaborating with major artists like AfroReggae and Jerry Dammers at high profile venues, including Southbank and Barbican; launching BBC Get Creative; opening the London Marathon; and starring on BBC 1Xtra and BBC Radio 3’s Young Artist Day.