Karen Tweed (born 1963,'Karen Tweed – Essentially Invisible to the Eye'
Folk Radio UK, 4 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-16.

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed p ...

) is a

piano accordion A piano accordion is an accordion equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano or organ. Its acoustic mechanism is more that of an organ than a piano, as they are both aerophones, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deir ...

ist from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

, England.

Biography

Tweed was born to an Irish mother and an English father. She began to play the

at the age of 11, studying from button and piano accordion virtuoso John Whelan, and went on to win the first of 5 all-Ireland championships in 1977 (on both piano accordion and

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

). In 1989, she resigned from her full-time

Art and Design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

teaching post at Bexhill High School,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English C ...

, to become a professional musician working with

The Poozies The Poozies are a British all-female traditional folk band formed in 1990. They were at the forefront of a wave that revolutionised traditional Scottish and Gaelic music in the 1990s. Throughout the years they have toured worldwide, attractin ...

, The

Kathryn Tickell Kathryn Tickell, OBE, DL (born 8 June 1967) is an English musician, noted for playing the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle. Music career Early life Kathryn Tickell was born in Walsall, then in Staffordshire, to parents who originated fro ...

Band and

Sally Barker Sally Barker (born 19 September 1959) is a British singer and songwriter, known for her solo work and as a founding member of the Poozies. In 2014, she was a finalist in the BBC One talent contest ''The Voice'', finishing in joint second plac ...

. Since then she has played around the world, giving concerts in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta ...

, New Zealand, Australia,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swed ...

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, Japan, the United States and Canada. , she is featured on over 30 CDs, and is also in demand for her work as an arranger, composer and tutor, being main

tutor at

Folkworks {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Folkworks is a non-profit organisation based at The Sage Gateshead and a part of the North Music Trust. It runs many workshops, summer schools and festivals to promote and encourage the furtherance of folk music. ...

youth courses for the past several years, as well as organising her own Adventures in Music courses along with Roger Wilson. She is the main piano accordion tutor at the World Music Centre,

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

, Ireland and a regular tutor at the BMus Degree in

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology * Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or ...

and

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick univer ...

and

The Sage Gateshead Sage Gateshead is a concert venue and musical education centre in Gateshead on the south side of the River Tyne in North East England. Opened in 2004 and occupied by North Music Trust it is part of the Gateshead Quays development which include ...

. She left

and Swåp in 2007 in order to work on other projects. In 2012, she released a solo five-track album entitled ''Essentially Invisible to the Eye''.

Selected discography

*''The Palm Of Your Hand'' - Roger Wilson (1987) *''Beating The Drum'' -

& The Rhythm (1992) *''Signs'' - The

Band (1993) *''Chantoozies'' -

(1993) *''Drops Of Springwater'' (1994) *''The Silver Spire'' (1994) *''Irish Choice Tune Book'' (1994) *''Compilation: Across The Water'' (1994) *''Courage, Love and Grace'' -

Pete Morton Pete Morton (born 30 July 1964) is an English folk singer-songwriter who lives in London, England. According to '' fRoots'', Morton "is amongst the best that the British roots music scene has produced in living memory."Harris, Craig " Pete Morto ...

(1995) *''Dansoozies'' -

(1995) *''Shhh'' -

Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildhall ...

& Karen Tweed (1995) *''Fyace'' -

& Karen Tweed (1997) *''SWÅP'' - Swåp (1997) *''New Directions In The Old'' - Roy Bailey (1997) *''Come Raise Your Head'' -

(1998) *''Sic'' - Swåp (1999) *''Half As Happy As We'' - The Two Duos Quartet (1999) *''Infinite Blue'' -

(2000) *''Live på Halkaerkro: Compilation of live tracks'' -

, Swåp,

Band (2000) *''Coda'' - Roy Bailey (2000) *''Raise your head: A Retrospective'' -

(2001) *''May Monday'' - Karen Tweed &

Timo Alakotila Timo Alakotila is a Finnish composer, arranger, and musician born 15 July 1959. Career Timo Alakotila's range of music styles stretches from Finnish folk music of the '' pelimanni'' style over some jazz influences to more or less Finnish ...

(2001) *''Mosquito Hunter'' - Swåp (2002) *''One Roof Under'' -

Andy Cutting Andy Cutting (born 18 March 1969) is an English folk musician and composer. He plays melodeon and is best known for writing and performing traditional English folk and his own original compositions which combine English and French tradition ...

& Karen Tweed (2002) *''Faerd'' - Faerd (2003) *''Changed Days Same Roots'' -

(2003) *''Each Step on the Way'' - Tony Hilliard (2005) *''Du Da'' - Swåp (2005) *''Gastbud'' - Morten Alfred Hoirup and Harald Haaugaard (2005) *''Essentially Invisible to the Eye'' - Karen Tweed (produced by

Bruce Molsky Bruce C. Molsky (born 1955, New York City) is an American fiddler, banjo player, guitarist, and singer. He primarily performs old-time music of the Appalachian region. Early years As a young man, Molsky first became interested in blues music, but ...

) (2012) *''Island Girls'' - Karen Tweed and Margaret Robertson (6 December 2021)

References

External links

Official websiteSwåp OfficialPoozies Official
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweed, Karen English folk musicians 1963 births Living people English accordionists The Poozies members 21st-century accordionists