About us

Michael Stewart

President

Michael started the Club’s initial meeting, the monthly session, with some friends in 2004 and then took on the role of President when the first committee was formed in 2005.  He has been amazed at the number and range of groups that have evolved from this simple gathering, and has enjoyed being part of the development of the Newport musical community.  Michael plays violin with the Newport Strings. He is also the Director of the Newport Folk Festival. 

Alan Davies

Vice-President

Alan joined the club in 2005. He is a choir leader, singer and guitarist. His ‘day job’ is in online communications. Alan has been the conductor of the Newport Community Choir since its formation in late 2008. He has been involved in many aspects of the club’s activities, including maintaining and operating the club’s PA system, Festival organising and co-ordinating the club’s online and print communications.

Rick Sidgwick

Secretary

Rick has been a club member from the beginning and a founding committee member – and took over the club’s secretarial reins from Alison in 2012.
He has strummed guitars, mandolins, bouzoukis and tenor banjos over the last 45 years and also flirted with harmonicas and tin whistles in a desperate attempt to amuse himself - and occasionally others!
Currently he plays with his partner Nicola in the imaginatively named duo The Ricolas – they play a mix of mainly Irish and Scottish tunes and songs.

Neil Brydges

Treasurer

Neil joined the Committee as Treasurer in 2018. After a lifetime of loving music, Neil was a late starter, and a slow learner, beginning to learn the guitar and occasionally bass six years ago. Neil is 6 of the strings of '18 Strings' - an acoustic guitar trio. When not butchering music, Neil's day job is as a tax lawyer. 

Danny Civitico

I have been involved in music for about 25 years, having played guitar and ukulele in a number of bands and duos as well as lead and back up vocals when required. My passion is to help beginners or inexperienced players get the best out of themselves to achieve their musical goals. I am the group leader for the Beginner Playalong Group having taken over in May 2022. I take pride in the development and enjoyment that people get from music and I also believe that marketing and promotion of the NFFC is vital to grow the organisation and most importantly  nurture community spirit and cohesion.I look forward to being a productive member of the management team.

Alison Dew

Alison played tin whistle with the club’s founding group of friends way back in 2004. Alison took on the role as secretary/treasurer during the early years of the club, passing these positions on as the club grew beyond our expectations. Alison has the club to thank for discovering the ukulele and her solo voice. She now teaches several classes, workshops and one on one students the wonders of this marvellous 4 stringed instrument. Her band the Ukulele Dolls play regularly throughout Hobsons Bay and beyond.

Kerry Duke

Kerry Duke was born in Footscray and moved to Williamstown in 1954.  He was a member of the Williamstown Sea Scouts for 44 years, rising to Group Leader. When he retired from his career as a plumber and company manager, Kerry took up learning mandolin and has been an active member of the Newport Bush Orchestra since joining the NFFC.

Kerry is a Life Member of the Hobson's Men's Shed Inc,  and also Challenge Cancer Support Network. Kerry’s hobby is making ukuleles and along with Michael Stewart has taken about 25 of them to the LEF For Life School in Dhaka, Bangladesh and taught some of the school children how to play them.

Greg Jenkins

Greg has been a club member since 2008. He has been a performer since primary school where he would sing unaccompanied (and uninvited) in show-and-tell. A keen songwriter, he helped to run “The Incredibly Supportive Songwriting Group”. He is currently co-host of the Club’s Open Stage nights and helps to organise the Club’s Theme Nights. While his main instrument is the guitar, he also plays a little banjo and is currently extending his harmonica and mandolin skills. He is half of the comic “ratbag blues” duo Sunny and Cloudy which performs original songs and schtick. His other “duties” for the Club have included MC-ing and venue management at festivals and maintaining the Atrocious Pun Quotient at Committee meetings.

Adrian Newington

Adrian was co-opted on to the Committee in August 2021. He is a retired IT support technician, and joined the club in 2017 as a member of Tues Blues and primarily contributes as lead guitarist. After being inspired by a Monkees concert in Festival Hall in 1967, Adrian took up the guitar to eventually follow the styles of the singer-songwriters of the 60's & '70s, but his most significant musical influence was Don McLean. He plays and composes in a number of musical genres, and has a modest but effective home recording studio.

Deborah Supriyono

After first learning the ukulele in primary school, Deborah picked it up again, 15 years ago, only to realise that ukulele playing had become a world wide phenomenon. She sought out other ukulele players and, in 2016, joined the Saturday morning uke group, which had just started to meet in Hall St. Through this group, Deborah discovered the NFFC and the many talented musicians in  the area. She became a member of the NFFC in 2017. Since then, Deborah has participated in, and supported the festivals and various theme nights of the club as a member of the Ukulele Dolls.