Musicians
Workshop leaders At ChorOnline
Tamar Buadze
Tamar Buadze is a singer, choir conductor and singing teacher in Georgia. She studied singing and choral conducting at the Tbilisi Conservatory and has been head of the music school for traditional Georgian music in Rustavi since 2006. With her renowned youth choir Tutarchela she regularly performs at international folklore festivals and choir competitions. In 2012 she received the Georgian Order of Merit for the distribution of Georgian traditional songs in Europe.
Photo: Rahel von Gunten
Tiezerk
Tiezerk is a duo from Yerevan that knows no artistic boundaries. The two young singers and multi-instrumentalists Lusine Mlke-Galystan and Eliza Baghdiyan take traditional Armenian music as their basis and transform it into artistic, poetic and also passionate arrangements to create their unique musical style. Both women work closely with the Mihr Theatre of their older sister and brother, the only independent dance theatre in Armenia, and they perform regularly in multidisciplinary stage productions.
Skaidra JANcAITe
Skaidra Jančaitė is a Lithuanian interdisciplinary artist, singer and classical 20th century music performer, actress, educator, photographer and organizer of various social events, as well as a folklore lover. She has performed all over the world, including countries such as the US, France, Russia, Ukraine, Norway, India, Thailand.
One of her newest projects «Suburtynė» (started in 2020) is an annual event held in Kaunas, where traditional Lithuanian polyphonic songs, Sutartinės, are sung non-stop for 24 hours. Each year hundreds of people come to listen and sing, dance, and experience this unique Lithuanian cultural heritage. Singing Sutartinės together with her friends Rasa Navickiene and Jolanta Skrebūnienė makes her «feel the togetherness and the empowering female energy. Evenings spent singing calm you down, while taking you beyond daily life and making you feel whole.»
Eva Rune
Eva Rune is a folk singer, composer and choir conductor. She has worked for many years with old folk songs connected to Christmas in various vocal ensembles, choirs and music groups. Together with her student Frida Andersson she will teach songs rooted in this time of the year, when darkness and cold are upon us, and the stars in the sky are clear. Many songs carry the theme of the light of the star, as people in the north have always cultivated songs about light in the darkest time of the year. Different traditions in different rural villages take place all through December, culminating around January 6th. The workshop will contain both vivid joyful dance tunes and serene hymns.
Photo: Maja Kristin Nylander
Jelena Jovanovic and Jelena Martinovic
Jelena Jovanović is an ethnomusicologist (PhD) and a performer, a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) and a fellow in the Institute of Musicology. Her scientific work deals with the rural vocal tradition in central Serbia and with the Serbian vocal tradition in Romania. Jelena is one of the founders and conductors of the Moba women’s vocal group. She conducts vocal workshops with singers in Serbia, Poland and Lithuania. As a soloist, she performs songs from Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey, in cooperation with instrumentalists from Belgrade and Skopje.
Jelena Martinović is a ethnomusicologist (Master) and a member of the vocal group Moba, she participated in the recording of three Moba studio albums, and in numerous music festivals in Serbia and around Europe. She has experience in teaching Serbian traditional singing to children and adults. Since 2003 she has been a member of the independant theatre company Plavo pozorište (Blue Theatre), where she gained experience of using traditional songs in the context of contemporary theatre performances.
Both singers share their experiences as members of the Moba group, singing Serbian rural traditional songs in a manner as close as possible to original village performances.
Zane Šmite
Zane Šmite is a folk singer, folk singing teacher and vocal coach who has studied vocal pedagogy (BC), ethnomusicology (MA) in Latvia, as well as Sciences of the Voice, Speech and Singing at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Her doctoral studies are related to the study of folk singing style. She regularly enriches her knowledge about voice in courses and master classes, as well as conducting folk singing master classes in Latvia and abroad. Šmite collaborates with professional Latvian composers, theaters and folklore groups both as a singer and as a consultant.
Njamy Sitson
Njamy Sitson from Cameroon is a singer, percussionist, composer and storyteller from a family of musicians steeped in their tradition as well as in music of the world. He is a member of the European Voice Teacher Association EVTA and has taught at various universities, for instance the Zurich University of the Arts, Medical School Hamburg, University of Augsburg, Carl Maria von Weber College of Music Dresden and the Freies Musikzentrum München. He has collaborated with Konstantin Wecker, Prof. Peter Hamel, Prof. Hans Jürgen Schellenberger, Wolfgang Lackerschmid, Adams Drame, the Leopold Mozart Quartett, the Classical Afrobeat Orchestra and others. Njamy Sitson is a world citizen dedicated to representing his culture in depth and with enthusiasm.
Patrizia Rotonda
Patrizia Rotonda, Sängerin und Chorleiterin, unterrichtet modernen und traditionellen Gesang an der Scuola Popolare di Musica di Testaccio in Rom und bietet Seminare in Stimmtechnik und mündlich überlieferter traditioneller Musik an. Sie beteiligt sich zusammen mit andern Künstlern und in verschiedenen musikalischen Stilrichtungen an Projekten im Umfeld von Theater und zeitgenössischer Kunst und ist Mitglied des Quartetto Nuovo der Musikethnologin Giovanna Marini.
Foto: Elisa Bolli
Astrid Alexandre & Ursina Giger
Die beiden Sängerinnen sind in der Surselva (Bündner Oberland) aufgewachsen und leben heute als freischaffende Künstlerinnen in der Schweiz. So unterschiedlich die Tätigkeitfelder der zwei Musikerinnen auch sind, einen grossen gemeinsamen Nenner haben sie: das rätoromanische Volkslied! Mit ihrem a cappella Trio «La Triada» (die dritte Stimme ist diejenige von Corin Curschellas) entdecken sie alte Weisen wieder, verpassen einem staubigen Lied ratzfatz ein neues Kleid und erforschen verkannte Facetten des Liedgutes der fünf rätoromanischen Idiome. Bei Choronline sollen sich die Teilnehmer*innen ungezwungen an den Klang der vierten Landessprache herantasten und ältere und neue Perlen aus der «Rumantschia» erlernen.
Veranika Kruhlova & Valeria Koob Delé
The two singers are from Belarus and live in Berlin. Veranika is the founder and leader of the Kriwi band. She collects Belarusian folklore and experiments with it. For her as health practitioner the healing properties of singing are very important in her work. Valeria sings Belarusian soul and hip-hop. She is a song-writer, choir leader and front woman of the first Belarusian soul group Dee Tree, and she began to study jazz singing at the Berlin UdK (university of arts) in October 2020. She founded the «Minsk Gospel House» Project and leads the Minsk Gospel Choir. She admires the Belarusian tradition and arranges Belarusian folk music.
Marlene und maria (ganes)
Marlene Schuen and Maria Moling are cousins who grew up together in the Ladin Dolomites in Southern Tirol. They have been singing in harmony since childhood. After accompanying the Austrian singer Hubert von Goisern on tour, they founded their own band Ganes together with Marlene’s sister Elisabeth in 2010. In this formation they performed in more than 500 concerts in Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Their 6th album «Or Brüm» is expected in summer 2021.
Marlene and Maria play various instruments; they sing, compose and produce their own music and participate in live or studio projects of musicians such as Me&Marie, Hubert von Goisern, Marc Romboy, Angela Aux, Michael Patrick Kelly and others.
Foto: Anne de Wolff
Luca nulchis and Andhira
Luca Nulchis with his group Andhira will present us with an insight into the fascinating world of Sardinian polyphony. We will learn religious and secular songs that are still alive in Sardinian villages today, passed on by oral tradition. Luca comes from a large musical family and grew up in such a village, so that he is just as familiar with the time-honoured native songs as with classical music. Musician, composer and singer with a classical education, he never lost his fascination for the traditional music of his homeland. Keeping, cherishing and passing on these songs is close to his heart and has been one of the main parts of his musical work for years now.
Foto: Michael Lio
Irene Coticchio
Irene Coticchio was born in Sicily and now lives in Vienna. She works as an actress, performer, singer, language and literature scientist as well as voice coach, and also holds talks on the folk music of Southern Italy. As performer she has been internationally active for more than 20 years, in projects but also with productions of her own, for instance as member of the performance group «Toxic dreams».
Since 2006 she has been researching Sicilian and Southern Italian folk music. She founded the «Irene Coticchio trio» and the ensemble «Continente Liquido», with which she performs regularly. Furthermore she is a founding member of «Cowbirds», a group singing traditional polyphonic songs from Corsica and Sicily, combining them with modern music and contemporary performance.
irenecoticchio.blogspot.com
cowbirdsde.wordpress.com
Foto: Armin Bardel
Petya Dragneva
Petya Dragneva works as a musician, singer and music teacher at the National Music School for Humanities and Arts «Konstantin Preslavski» in Varna, Bulgaria. Petya studied traditional Bulgarian singing and the Bulgarian lute Tambura at the Academy of Music and Dance in Plovdiv and has been leader of the children's choir «Медени звънчета» (copper bells) since 2001. Together with her husband Dragni Dragnev she leads countless seminars and workshops for traditional Bulgarian music all over Europe.
Ljoba JenCe
Ljoba Jence is the only freelance artist in Slovenia who dedicates her work to oral culture documentation, and at the same time works as an artist, a singer and storyteller, preferring natural acoustics for the interpretation of traditional songs, myths, and tales. She tries to preserve culture in authentic areas which she documents and researches in the field with local people whom she encourages to keep up their tradition of singing and rituals. Ljoba received a national medal of honour for the preservation of Slovenian heritage; and the Pajn Institute for Sustainable Living, of which she is the founder and director, received a special mention of the jury of the European society for cultural heritage Europa Nostra Awards in 2017.
Nataša MirkoviC
Nataša Mirkovic is singer and ethnomusicologist, has been researching the polyphonic singing of the Balkans for over 17 years. The lecturer is a singer and actress; she studied musicology and classical singing in Sarajevo, Lied and oratorio in Graz and has lived in Vienna for many years. Inspired by her own vocal versatility, she developed the method of universal voice guidance. Lively concert and teaching activities, numerous CD recordings, most recently «En el Amor» with Michel Godard and Jarrod Cagwin.
Foto: Laurent Ziegler
Mariana Sadovska
Mariana Sadovska is an award-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist and actress from the Ukraine who now lives in Cologne. She has conducted many ethnomusicological expeditions in rural Ukraine and Poland, collecting a large number of traditional songs and stories and researching rituals. In 2013 she received the Ruth World Music Award for her artistic processing and the further development of this exciting material in numerous stage projects.
Gabriella Aiello
Gabriella Aiello is a singer, actress and dancer from Rome who is specialised in traditional songs of Italy. Trained at the Scuola Popolare di Musica di Testaccio in Rome, she is particularly fascinated by the different vocal techniques in singing: from bel canto, jazz and overtone singing to traditional singing styles from different cultures. Gabriella has participated in numerous music and theater productions and has been a regular performer at multi-ethnic festivals all over Europe.
Foto: Claudio Petrucci
Dessislava Stefanova
Dessislava Stefanova is a singer and choir director from the Bulgarian city Stara Zagora. She was a member of the famous Filip Kutev National Folk Music and Dance Ensemble in Sofia for three years before emigrating to London in 2000, where she studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Dessi is the founder of the London Bulgarian Choir and the Swiss Bulgarian Choir and regularly teaches Bulgarian singing workshops in different countries.
Musicians at ConcertOnline
tiezerk
Tiezerk is a duo from Yerevan (Armenia) that knows no artistic boundaries. The two young singers and multi-instrumentalists take traditional Armenian music as a basis, develop it further in artful, dreamy but also spirited arrangements and create their very own music from it. They work closely with Lusine’s older siblings' MIHR Theatre, Armenia's only independent dance theatre, and regularly perform in multidisciplinary stage productions. Tiezerk (Armenian for "universe") moves and enchants!
Lusine Mlke-Galstyan, voice / flute / jutar / ukulele
Eliza Baghdiyan, voice / guitar
Sadio Cissokho & Hannah Chaja
The Senegalese kora player Sadio Cissokho and the Swiss cellist Hannah Chaja meet in search of new musical paths. In a joint exchange, they succeed in building a bridge between the West African Mandinka tradition and Western classical music. The pearly sounds of the 21-string bridge harp merge with the warm cello tones and the expressive voice of Sadio Cissokho. Whether melancholic, meditative or rhythmic and groovy - there is room for the soul to dream.
Hannah Chaja, Cello
Sadio Cissokho, Kora/Gesang
celloundkora.com
Petra Hayoz & Natalie Huber
Petra and Natalie, the nature yodelling duo from Winterthur and Hagendorf, perform yodelling tunes from near and far. The two yodelling ladies Petra Hayoz and Natalie Huber share their fascination and passion for Appenzeller Zäuerli, Muotathaler Jüüzli, Country Yodel and Zweigesänge from Austria and South Tyrol. A unique mix of traditional and just-created, always with joie de vivre, longing and charm.
Schwedenstubete
Many years ago, two Swedish musicians moved to Switzerland, each of them following love, but so far they have never performed together. But now at last jazz singer Marianne Racine meets classical violinist Pär Näsbom at home. They sing and play chosen pieces from their common Swedish folk heritage: Romantic songs and groovy dances of the far North, from Polskas via Bellmann to ABBA.
Marianne Racine, vocals, percussion
Pär Näsbom, violin
Andhira
Four musicians from Sardinia who have been making music together since 2001: Elena Nulchis (vocals, Indian harmonium), Egidiana Carta (vocals and flute), Michela Saba (vocals) and Luca Nulchis (piano, Indian harmonium, vocals) work with the archaic expression of the shepherd's songs of their homeland Sardinia, but go far beyond that in terms of content. Their music tells stories, expresses longings, tells of hidden and mysterious places, of human malice, of the sanctity of nature and its elements, of precious memories…
Foto: Katharina Meier
HÜMA
Hüma are a multicultural band from Zurich with musicians from Turkish, Kurdish, Macedonian and Swiss backgrounds. They describe their music as ethno-jazz, a modern approach to traditional music from the East with exciting jazz and rock influences. The seven band members - Hakan Can (oud, vocals), Ülkü Can (vocals), M. Ali Demren (guitar, vocals), Ezgi Berberoglu (string tambour), Nehrun Aliev (accordion, clarinet), Mirco Häberli (double bass) and Raphael Zuzak (percussion) - are not only experts in classical Turkish as well as Kurdish and Turkish traditional and popular music, they also write their own songs.
Obsigänt
«Obsigänt» are four strong, individual voices with a passion for natural yodel. Christa Hunziker, Rita Kalberer, Christine Michel und Gabriela Notter have been singing together for years in the choir “Singfrauen Winterthur”, and at the same time cultivating their interest in natural tones. Since 2014 they have been performing as a quartet or in cooperation with other formations. Their repertory includes traditional Swiss yodels, polyphonic songs and jazzy arrangements. The name “obsigänt” is a Swiss dialect word signifying the rising of the moon.
Les Amuse-Gueules
«Les Amuse-Gueules» are three singers dedicated to natural yodel. Marion Knoth, Regula Stadler and Susanne Trost Vetter have been yodelling their way round the globe ever since 2012. Original natural tones and yodels are to be found in many regions of the world, not only in the European alps, and sometimes they sound surprisingly similar. Les Amuse-Gueules present various types of typical yodels from Austria and Switzerland, but also krimantshulis from Georgia, joiks from Lappland and Northern America as well as yellis of the Baka-pygmies in Africa. In addition, les Amuse-Gueules perform contemporary compositions of yodels mainly from Austria: funny, anarchic, lovely, queer, singular, but always diverse, fresh and new.
Speakers at CaféOnline
Karin Eriksson
Karin Eriksson is an ethnomusicologist and her main research interests include traditional musics and issues of cultural belonging, musical value production and cultural heritage. She received a PhD degree in Musicology at Uppsala University in 2017, and has been working as a researcher at the Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research in Stockholm, Sweden. Olav Luksengård Mjelva is one of Norway’s finest fiddle players. He has been touring all over the world and received several prestigious awards for his playing.
Amrat hussain and sanjay khan
Amrat Hussain (tabla player) and Sanjay Khan (singer) are two brothers from a famous North Indian music dynasty. They began their musical training early in their childhood, learning from their father and grandfather as part of a seven generation long lineage of professional musicians. They are both world-renowned, performing at the most prestigious World Music festivals with famous musicians, and have won numerous awards for their music.
Damien & Guillaume Gratia
Damien and Guillaume Gratia are two brothers from Provence (France), the land of troubadours. Having grown up with Provençal folk culture, with songs, instrumental music and dance, they share their passion for the diverse traditions of their homeland. Their group F.A.B. is dedicated to this music and dance culture and mixes it with modern sounds. While Damien works as a psychologist, Guillaume has a master's degree in musicology and ethnomusicology and was also awarded a gold medal by the French Conservatory for playing the traditional Provençal instrument Galoubet Tambourin.
Hilary Coleman & Sally Burley
Hilary Coleman and Sally Burley are two traditional singers from Cornwall, UK. Hilary got to know Cornish pub songs in her youth through the Calstock rowing club. She co-founded a number of Cornish bands and currently runs the local group Red River Singers. Sally has a great interest in both singing and Cornish history and culture. Her earliest memories of pub singing are as a small child visiting relatives in St Day in the lead-up to Christmas, and these carols remain her favourite songs. Both women have conducted research on Cornish singing traditions and have co-published two books on pub-songs (2015) and Cornish carols (2017).
Vitaly Yevseyev
Vitaly Yevseyev is a musician and folklorist. Originally from the Siberian city Omsk, he now lives in Moscow but frequently travels the world with just his guitar for his project «One Way Ticket». On his numerous expeditions into remote areas of Siberia, Vitaly has collected traditional songs, dances and fairy tales of various ethnicities. These treasures form the basis for the artistic output of his and his wife’s band Urgaband, which transforms Siberian traditional songs into exciting contemporary rock music versions.
Filip Arilon
Filip Arilon is a folk dance researcher, singer and multi-instrumentalist from North Macedonia. Familiar with Macedonian dances since childhood, he studied ethnochoreology (dance ethnology) at the music academy in Štip and has been collecting dances, songs and instrumental pieces from his country ever since. Filip teaches these cultural treasures worldwide in various music and dance seminars.
INgor Ántte Áilu Gaup (Ailloš)
Ailloš is a musician, composer, actor and yoiker from the Norwegian part of Sápmi, the traditional living area of the Saami minority. Having grown up in a reindeer herding family, he learnt how to yoik early on despite the negative connotation this vocal art form still had when he was a child. Today, Ailloš teaches the traditional yoik as well as Saami culture worldwide. He also likes to experiment with exciting musical crossovers between Yoik and Indian, African and Inuit vocal traditions.
Foto: Aslak Mikal Mienna