“Singin’ Miners”: Following the trail of Cornish carols

Kate Neale talks about the tradition of Cornish Christmas carols, and how these seasonal community celebrations travelled to the diaspora with migrating miners during the 19th century.

Biography:

Born and raised in Cornwall, Kate Neale studied English and Music at Cardiff University before specialising in ethnomusicology – the study of music within cultures and communities. Seeing music at the heart of community traditions such as the Padstow carols, and fascinated by the transfer of such traditions with migrating Cornish miners, she pursued a PhD focusing on Cornish Christmas carolling in California and South Australia, which was co-supervised between Cardiff University and the University of Exeter. She returned to Cornwall in 2018 where she completed her studies, and now works in communications and on a range of voluntary projects.