The Festival Team

Emily manages marketing activity for the Festival and develops freelance arts and heritage projects. Before moving to Hawes in Wensleydale in 2013 with her family, she worked for several London-based arts organisations including Shakespeare Schools Festival, arts-in-health pioneer Rosetta Life, and also for a bespoke artist-jeweller. She grew up in Hackney, studied English Literature at Leeds University and loves stories, coffee and bringing people together through the arts.

Rosie manages the festival finances and general office administration. She has a background in financial management having worked as a civil servant for the Department for Education for 16 years. Rosie grew up in Sheffield where she studied music at University, becoming particularly interested in World Music and Ethnomusicology. She hopes to have a grand piano one day and would love to learn to play steel pans.

David studied Popular Music in Edinburgh and has toured and recorded music in the UK, Europe and the United States. He is engaged in a number of music education projects in the Durham/North Yorkshire area. He joined the Festival in 2024 to head up production and has thoroughly enjoyed becoming part of the team.

Tim studied for a Masters in Contemporary Theatre Studies at the University of Kent and spent a number of years performing in film, TV and theatre before he began working in technical theatre. Working in production roles for various UK festivals including Reading, Latitude and Lounge on the Farm, Tim developed an interest in lighting design and stage technology. As Technical Manager for The Point and Berry Theatres, Tim now designs lighting and production manages for many in-house and touring shows. Tim also enjoys working with youth theatres and advising emerging companies on technical theatre. He joined Swaledale Festival back in 2009 and has enjoyed making a great many friends through the network of volunteers and the venues and pubs that the Festival frequents throughout the Dales!

Having grown up in Grinton, Chris has attended and volunteered at Swaledale Festival events for over fifteen years and officially joined the team in 2014. He is self-employed in a variety of fields including events management, joinery, property management and woodland conservation. Chris is a member of Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team, is a keen caver, rock climber and fell runner, and is Ringing Master of the St. Andrew’s Bellringers.

Sally grew up on a working farm in the rival neighbouring dale of Teesdale. She studied French at university, where she presented a student radio show and went on to become involved in a local community station. She has always been a big fan of music and played cello in several school ensembles. She likes to attend a live show at least every month to keep her band t-shirt collection fresh; she joined the Festival team in 2022 for its 50th year and was delighted to work at 50 events in two weeks! Sally works at the University of Leicester and enjoys cricket, photography, and switching off unused plug sockets.

Kadiatu is a writer, lecturer and arts advocate. She came to the 2022 Festival to tell her extraordinary story about raising seven ultra-talented classical musicians, many of whom have performed at Swaledale Festival over the years including Isata, Sheku and Braimah in 2017 and 2019, and Jeneba in 2022. Her memoir House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Storytelling Award in November 2021.

Kadiatu and her husband Stuart were given the J.M Barrie Award in 2018 for contribution to children’s arts, and in February 2022, on behalf of the family, they collected the prestigious ABO Award. Kadiatu was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Academy of Music in 2022, and in 2023 she received the ISM Distinguished Musician Award.

Kadiatu is a strong advocate for the benefits of regional music-making and accessibility. She writes and gives interviews around the UK on diversity in classical music, music education, issues of race and inclusion, literature and parenting. Kadiatu became a Patron in 2023.

As a young man, Ronnie worked as a DJ and as a celebrity hairdresser for films and commercials, but he has always had a passion for art and antiques. He has been working in the antiques business now for 40 years - as a dealer and as a consultant. Ronnie was an advisor to Sotheby’s on collections as diverse as wristwatches and costume jewellery, and more recently he has been a consultant to Dore & Rees auctions in Frome, Somerset.

Ronnie is now an independent specialist working largely for galleries and private clients, and since 2011 he has been a core member of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow team. He is an independent antiques specialist with a particular interest in locating and identifying ethnic, tribal and folk art. He joined the Festival as a Patron in 2023.

Ronnie’s autobiography, Would It Surprise You To Know…? was described by the poet and playwright Lemn Sissay as ‘Brilliant…a mercurial memoir of a meritorious life.