Floyds Row
Floyds Row is a British-American ensemble. A side project for the principal artists, the ensemble fuses traditional, contemporary classical music, and original material.
Name
The ensemble's namesake refers to a street off St Aldate's, Oxford, running between the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Music and the Thames Valley Police station.[1][2]
History
Floyds Row evolved from several concerts at the University of Oxford, notably St Hilda's College, Oxford. Collaborations between Chris Ferebee, Alistair Anderson, Andrew Arceci, and several guest musicians led to the ensemble producing their début recording, The Oxford Sessions.[3]
In BroadwayWorld, Chloe Rabinowitz wrote "...Floyds Row has developed into a folk-classical collective, pulling from early, folk, and classical idioms. What began as an Oxford-based project has blossomed into a touring ensemble on notable stages across the UK and U.S., with a critically appreciated album that merges chamber elegance with folk resonance."[4]
In a Bachtrack feature about Arceci, Danny Riley wrote the ensemble '...initially formed during Arceci’s time at Oxford and named after a side-street close to the music faculty. The idea blossomed from conversations with another American, Chris Ferebee, about traffic of folk tunes, both across the Atlantic and across oral and classical traditions, during the 17th and 18th centuries."[5]
The online magazine, Popular Hustle, noted that "What makes Floyds Row unusual is their approach to historical material. They’re grounded in historical awareness, tracing how folk tunes evolved across centuries and continents, but they deliberately avoid strict authenticity. The goal isn’t to recreate period performances. It’s to treat centuries-old music as raw material for something current. Their performances incorporate improvisation, reflecting both historical practices and contemporary freedom, with a rotating lineup that brings together musicians from different backgrounds using various notation systems and approaches."[6]
The Oxford Sessions
The Oxford Sessions was recorded at St Hilda's College, Oxford, engineered and produced by Dan Jeffries, with Martyn Harry[7] serving as executive producer. Released by Centaur Records in 2018, the album is available through several platforms.[8][9]
In Fanfare (magazine), Colin Clarke wrote “The ability to move between genres is an art in and of itself. The close recording balance is entirely appropriate to the music presented and is, I believe, the best single release I have ever heard from the Centaur label.”[10]
In the US
Mirroring their eclectic musical style, Floyds Row has performed at a diverse range of venues, including the American Folk Art Museum; Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers; Berklee College of Music; Church of the Epiphany (Washington, D.C.); Boston's iconic folk venue Club Passim and historic King's Chapel; Gaithersburg Arts Barn; Late Night Series-Emmanuel Music; New Deal Cafe; ROBERT-Museum of Arts & Design; Rockwood Music Hall; The Center for Arts in Natick; and the Winchendon Music Festival.[11][12]
Floyds Row was inactive for several years due to changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2025, the collective resumed touring, sharing stages across the Northeast US with singer-songwriter Chris Moyse (a 2017 winner of the Kerrville New Folk songwriting competition, Kerrville Folk Festival).[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] [20] [21][22]
Current Artists
- Andrew Arceci - viola da gamba, bass, cittern, mandolin, & guitar (Director, Winchendon Music Festival)
- Anna Griffis - violin & viola
- Asako Takeuchi - violin & mandolin
- Carrie Cheron - mezzo-soprano & guitar (Assistant Professor, Berklee College of Music)
- Chris Ferebee - cittern, mandolin, guitar, lyre, & gittern[23]
- Emily Marvosh - contralto[24]
- Emily Noël - soprano, autoharp, & Appalachian dulcimer[25]
- George Lykogiannis - accordion & piano (with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Mark Morris Dance Center, New York City Ballet, and others)
- Hailey Fuqua - soprano
- Jacques Wood - cello & banjo (Resident Artist, University of New Hampshire)
- Jonathan Hess - percussion (Faculty Artist, College of the Holy Cross)
- Julia McKenzie - violin & viola
- Michelle Humphreys - percussion (Associate Professor, Towson University)
- Robert Schulz - percussion
- Teresa Wakim - soprano[26]
Past Artists
- Alistair Anderson - concertina & Northumbrian smallpipes
- Athena Corcoran-Tadd - violin
- Becky Rea - flute
- George Lernis - percussion
- Hannah James - soprano & accordion (of Lady Maisery)
- James Percival - harmonium
- Joshua Copeland - baritone
- Justin Godoy - recorder
- Mike Williams - percussion
- Rebecca Tay - soprano
- Tal Katsir - soprano
References
- ↑ Staff, BMInt (January 26, 2016). "Rowing Together, Past to Present and Back".
- ↑ Wexler, Ellyn (October 19, 2016). "All in a Floyds Row".
- ↑ "Floyds Row".
- ↑ "Folk Collective Floyds Row to Tour Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Maine".
- ↑ Riley, Danny. "Musical histories in transit: Andrew Arceci". Bachtrack.
- ↑ "An Oxford Collective Is Rethinking What Happens When Genres Collide". Popular Hustle. October 2025.
- ↑ "Martyn Harry | St Hilda's College Oxford". www.st-hildas.ox.ac.uk.
- ↑ "Spotify – Web Player". Spotify.
- ↑ "Amazon.com". Amazon.
- ↑ Fanfare, March/April 2021, pages 507-508
- ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/going-out-guide-for-the-district-of-columbia-june-16-22-2016/2016/06/14/4b8073c6-2bfa-11e6-b9d5-3c3063f8332c_story.html
- ↑ "A Wish for Life Concert & Benefit featuring Floyds Row » Early Music America". 8 November 2022.
- ↑ "Chris Moyse". chrismoysemusic.com.
- ↑ "Winchendon Music Festival is set to celebrate 10th anniversary". Classical Music.
- ↑ McDermott, Beth. "Jazz, folk and classical: Winchendon Music Festival's eclectic mix". The Gardner News.
- ↑ "Winchendon Music Festival celebrates 10th anniversary". www.music.ox.ac.uk.
- ↑ Duckett, Richard. "Winchendon Music Festival begins 10th anniversary season with concert on May 31". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
- ↑ Vine, Greg (May 26, 2025). "Winchendon Musical Festival returns for 10th year".
- ↑ Parr, Freya. "Winchendon Music Festival: A Fresh Approach In New England". Classical Music.
- ↑ Hugill, Robert. "A family affair: beginning as a memorial to his father, Andrew Arceci's Winchendon Music Festival has grown into a community enterprise". Planet Hugill.
- ↑ "Folk Music Sensation Floyds Row Takes Ridgewood by Storm: Unmissable Concert at Ridgewood Library". The Ridgewood Blog. 19 September 2025.
- ↑ "Lecture/Recital with Floyds Row | Berklee".
- ↑ https://berry.edu/academics/fs/cferebee
- ↑ http://www.emilymarvosh.com/biography
- ↑ https://www.emilynoel.com/bio
- ↑ https://www.teresawakim.com/biography
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