Trad Academy Sea Shanty Choir

Explore the work-songs of the golden age of sail with our resident artistic director of maritime music Pete Truin. As well as running our open-access adult shanty choir, The Trad Academy also provides shanty workshops for schools, festivals, businesses and organisations working with older people.

Since their heyday between 1815 and 1870, shanties have remained a popular form of song for both sailors and landsmen alike. The workshops we run focus on building a repertoire of shanties that were used for different jobs on board ship. We explore more authentic styles of singing as well as contemporary arrangements of shanties and other nautical songs in 3, 4 and 5 part harmony and our sessions frequently involve movement work.

The Trad Academy Sea Shanty Choir was established in 2013 as an open-access adult community choir, providing an opportunity for singers of all abilities to come together and sing songs of the sea, and rehearses on an on-going basis.