He was born in Iraq In 1981, and forced to migrate to Hakkari, Turkey with his family. He completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Hakkari. In 1998, he started to participate in various music events and compilation works under the name Lawje with Serhat Bostancı and Ali İmran Erin. In 2005, he started his Fundamental Sciences education in Dicle University State Conservatory in Diyarbakır. In 2008, he performed in Lawje’s first demo consisted of 5 songs and in their album Seige consisted of 13 songs as the vocalist. Between 2010 and 2017, he taught on Traditional Dengbêj Culture, Forms of Traditional Hakkari Music, Voice Training and Repertoire in Aram Tigran City Conservatory established by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality. In the same years, in cooperation with Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, he staged Kurdish Hamlet and Mem û Zîn and performed in them. Since 1998, he continues to take part in compilation works with Serhat Bostancı and Ali İmran Erin whom he participated in music events and found Lawje.

Workshop Title: Music forms in Hakkari (A province in the south east corner of Turkey)

Description: Ali TEKBAŞ, who has been compiling local music in Hakkari since 1998, is going to lecture on traditional songs, musical forms of Hakkari and his compilation works which he has done with his band Lawje.

After collaborating in a wide number of musical projects as a guitarist, he started getting into traditional music. As a session musician he has recorded in more than forty different projects of various musical styles: early music (Capella de Ministrers, Aman Aman, Oc, Maria Laffitte...), folk (Sabir, Malagüero, Cendraires, Al Tall, El Cau del Llop...). He abandoned little by little the guitar to focus mainly on Mediterranean double-string instruments and medieval music. With this type of instruments he has done works for advertising, documentaries, short films, poetry readings, puppet shows, street theatre, intensive courses...

He has done artistic productions for various bands and singer-songwriters. He has studied hurdy-gurdy through intensive courses with Pascal Lefeuvre, Maurizzio Martinotti and Nigel Eaton. North Indian music with Krishna Mohann Batt and Ajoy Chakrabakti, sitar with Sazed Ul Alam, rabab and music from Afghanistan with Daud Khan and Ustad Mohammed Rahim Khushnawaz, ud with Necati Çelik and Yurdal Tokcan, and saz with the Crete based Irish musician Ross Daly and the Turkish masters Erol Parlak and Mehmet Erenler. Nowadays he combines his activities with L´Ham de Foc with the early music band Capella de Ministrers, with whom he has performed all through Spain, Italy, France, Morocco, Egypt, Croatia, Portugal, and has recorded five albums: "Trobadors", "Llibre Vermell Montserrat", "Lamento di Tristano", "Misteri d'Elx" and "Cancionero de Palacio".

Workshop Title: Improvisation in Modal Music

Description: On this workshop we will work on the musical creativity through the analysis of rhythm patterns, modes and ornamentations coming from different musical traditions in order to incorporate them to our own language. Open to all kinds of melodic instruments and percussions.

He is the member of a Georgian family which moved to Anatolia more than one century ago. Born in Nazilli, 1956. He studied in Mimar Sinan University Master Architecture department. He was aware about how to keep the Georgian Music alive in the times that Georgian Music was about to be forgotten by Georgians who were living in Turkey, for that he started the projects such as Kafdağı Music Communities. Later on, he worked on the creation of Maçahela Elders Choir and he had the chance to bring Georgian folk songs to light which were forgotten for a long while. "Georgian Art House" was his dream project ever and he planted its first seeds in 2011. Since then, Georgian Art House is not only a place for musical events; but also a school for painting, dance, traditional and classical instruments, also a "home" that anyone can learn Georgian language.

Workshop Title: Traditional Polyphonic Georgian Music, Panduri and Salamuri, Traditional Polyphonic Georgian Songs Workshop

Description: İberya Özkan MELAŞVİLİ, who is well-known for his scrutinized studies on Georgian music which he has carried out for a long time, is going to present old people’s choir songs from “İnegöl Hayriye Village” and “Borçka Maçaheli Valley” as well as Traditional Polyphonic Georgian Music. Also he is going to carry out a workshop of Panduri and Salamuri (two ever-present Georgian instruments) and also of Traditional Polyphonic Georgian Songs.

Yusuf İhsan Bodur was born in 1959 in Fethiye. He engaged with Üçtelli and music thanks to his father and uncle who used to play bağlama and Üçtelli. He visited different regions of Anatolia as a teacher. After he started working in Fethiye, he met Ramazan Güngör, who is one of the most significant representatives of the three-string. Bodur had the chance to learn various hand and finger technics as well as repertory from the master Güngör. He joined in the Music Village in 2015 and 2017 carrying out workshops and giving concerts. He carried out workshops in 2016 with children from villages within the Project “A Musical Voyage: From Tradition to Global” and played in the album “Melodies with Üçtelli from Anatolia” which was published in September 2017.

Workshop Title: Üçtelli

Description: The master of Üçtelli are going to present playing technics within master-apprentice relation.

Özgü Bulut has been working as an academic in Ondokuz Mayıs State Conservatory since 2014. He is giving lessons on “Games-Dance and Music” at the level of bachelor degree, “Body Percussion” at the level of masters degree and doctoral degree, and “Music and Dance” in the department of Early Childhood Education. He participates in festivals, workshops and conventions regarding his field.

Workshop Title: Body Music and Soundpainting

Description: In his Body Music workshop, Özgü BULUT will help the participants discover the specifics of using the body as a “touch instrument”, and experience the practice of polyphony, playing together, making groups, single / multi focusing, listening to each other and taking action in a harmony with environment in an enjoyable setting while music and dance come to existance by doing the moves. Besides, the workshop will include some games regarding transforming Turkish Music Forms to body music.

Ruhat Kılıç Hosseini was born in 1988 in Rize. She started learning traditional dances in primary school years. She took place in “Fire of Anatolia” as a dancer in 2010. She studied Turkish Traditional Dances in Turkish Music State Conservatory between 2012-2016. She gave ballet lessons to youngsters in 2017 in Muğla city. She has been working in Public Education Center as a dance teacher.

Workshop Title: Teke and Artvin Regions Traditional Dances

Veka Aler has been a student for a long time in Voice Academy of Cavit Mürtezaoğlu, she has taken courses on technics of voice and breathing and also makam systems. She assisted Müretezaoğlu’s own method book “Voice Method” and she began giving lessons in this field.

Workshop Title: Voice and Breathing Technics

Description: This seminar basically considers the human voice to be an instrument. In the case of an instrument, just as there is necessarily a mechanism and a structure, a prerequisite to playing it is to first understand the mechanism, to learn to obtain a good sound from it and to then build upon this foundation. In the case of the human voice, what is the mechanism of sound production and what are the elements of which it is comprised? What is it that a soloist uses as a “bow” if we are to compare the mechanism of producing sound to that of a bowed instrument? After learning these elements (diaphragm, correct breathing mechanism, vocal cords, intra-oral muscles), we will be able to do the exercises and we will develop and strengthen with more rigor and awareness. Progressing with a method at this point makes the development stable and regular.

We will learn anatomically the mechanism of human sound production, and we will recognize, develop and strengthen the “instrument” in our body with practical and intensive exercises.

Born in Istanbul in 1979. In 1997 he won a four-year scholarship at İstanbul Bilgi University Music (Composition) Department. In 2001 he graduated with a First Class Honours from the music Department. In October 2004, upon the invitation of David “FUZE” Fiuczynski, he held a workshop at the Berklee College Of Music on fretless guitar and modes in Turkish music. In 2008 he recorded his first album “İLE”, which was produced by Sinan Sakızlı within Baykuş Music. The same year, with “Aria” soundtrack company, he composed and arranged the soundtrack for the movie “Issız Adam”, which is written and directed by Çağan Irmak, and he won Yeşilçam “Soundtrack of the Year 2009” prize. In 2009 Cenk Erdoğan Trio feat. Tineke Postma played in the 16th İstanbul Jazz Festival and 19th Akbank Jazz festival. The same year, he played with Yinon Muallem ensemble in “Karawane 2009” festival, organized in Bochum. Also the same year, he played and record the “Çark” album with the trio he formed with Nihan Devecioğlu and Adam Matta in Zaltsburg Music Fest, Bayreuth Young Artists Fest, and Bonn Summer Fest. In 2010 he played in “Turkophony all stars” band with Trilok Gurtu and Doninique di Piazza. In 2011 he played in “Turkophony all stars” band with Dave Weckl,Kai Eckhardt,Eric levy. In 2011 he records his second album “Kavis” (Arc) in San Francisco with legendary bass player Kai Eckhardth and Jason Lewis and this album relased and sponsored by Berkeley Jazz School Records. 2014 he made the first educational web site for fretless guitar playing www.fretlessguitarlessons.com and start to teach Turkish way of playing fretless guitar, playing techniques… 2014 he released his last record “KaraKutu” which was played solo with all acoustic guitars ( fretless and fretted) 2016 he conducts and arranges the orchestra of “Sezen Aksu” which is the diva of Turkish popular music. His last big project “Sezenli Yillar” was performed 6 concerts with 35 piece orchestra and visual and dance shows. He released the album “Lahza” in 2017 with the Swedish drummer Mehmet İkiz.

He released his album titled “Fermata” in 2018. He was invited to a world tour of 49 concerts with Antoin Boyer, Samuelito and Luca Stricangnoli and took stage in Europe, USA and Canada within the project “International Guitar Night”.

He still works as a producer, composes and arranges music for television series and soundtracks and gives concerts.

Workshop Title: Fretless Guitar

Mehmet Günay Eser was born in 1992, in Mersin, Tarsus. Eser who graduated from Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs University Music Deparment in 2015, made some surveys on music in different regions of Anatolia, principally in Çukurova. He made presentations on the technics of bağlama in different universities.

Mehmet Günay who has an extensive interest in harmonics has many compositions including Üçtelli, bağlama, piano, violin, four violins and orchestra. He carried out workshops and gave concerts to the participants coming both from abroad and different cities of Turkey in 2017 Music Village of which he is the general art director. He is the general art director of Üçtelli Quartet with which he visited Jeonju and Seoul in Sout Korea and this quartet took Üçtelli to abroad for the first time.

Workshop Title: Üçtelli

Description: In his üçtelli workshop, Mehmet Günay ESER is going to carry out works for participants of all levels. The morphological structure of üçtelli bağlama, tuning systems, right and left hand techniques and local performing techniques are going to be studied. At the same time, various works will be carried out according to the level of the participant group about polyrhythmic melodies with üçtelli. Different exercises will be done for all participants in the workshop from basic to advanced level.

He was born in1987 in Ordu. He graduated from İstanbul Technical University Turkish Music Conservatory in 2011. He took stage as a soloist in Presidential Symphony Orchestra, Ankara State Opera and Ballet, Samsun State Opera and Ballet, Hacettepe Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. He cooperated with Kamil Sönmez , Erkan Oğur, Emel Sayın, Sezen Aksu, Apolas Lermi in their albums and concerts. He took stage in different countries such as Greece, South Korea, Germany, Georgia, Cyprus, Spain, France.

Workshop Title: Görele Kemenche and Black Sea Lyra

Seminar: Diverse Playing Styles of Kemenche in East Black Sea Region

At the age of eight, he started his strings adventure with mandolin, followed by cura, bağlama, divan sazı, kopuz, buzuki, banjo, cümbüş, tanbur, lavta and their smaller or bigger variants. He formed different bands such "Arşipel" (Mediterranean and Aegean music), "Istanbul Blues Company" (blues, sprituals, gospels and bluesy experiments), "Tuzlu Nehir" (blues, bluegrass, Turkish dance tunes and Irish music), "Kırıka" (rembetic rock)... He wrote songs, made albums, and played in numerous concerts. Some compilations and collections were found in his work. He made music journalism in "Roll" music magazine. His music appeared in many films, series, documentaries and theatre plays. Presently he is singing and playing divane in two new bands such “Duble Salih” (Turkish folk music from all regions) and “Çalgiya İzmir” (Ottoman influenced Balkan tunes).

Seminar Title: The Story of Zeybek From Turkey to Greece

Description: Musical and social aspects of Zeybek culture from both Turkey and Greece will be presented.

Born in Istanbul, 25.12.1984. Started to play bağlama when she was 9. In 2003, she attended I.T.U Turkish Music State Conservatory Vocal Bachelor of Arts Program. In 2007, she was awarded first prize in the Arguvan's Folk Songs Voice Competition and attended the Bağlama Orchestra of Erdal Erzincan as a soloist and bağlama player. She also worked on field research, collection and notation. In 2008, she graduated from I.T.U Turkish Music State Conservatory Vocal Bachelor of Arts Program (English), then she attended the Master Program of I.T.U. Institute of Social Sciences Turkish Music Department. In 2010, she started to work as a researcher in ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory Vocal Bachelor of Arts Program. After finishing her Master studies in 2011, she attended I.T.U. Institute of Social Sciences Turkish Music Department for her doctorate program in Musicology and Music Theory. In 2011, she took part as a soloist and bağlama player in the "Âlâ" which is a community created by the I.T.U Academics. She took part as a Jury and/or the art director during the Traditional Arguvan's Folk Songs Voice Competition in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Her first album "İki Cihan" was published in March 2015. In 2018, she graduated from her doctorate with her doctorate thesis "The Examination of the Women Bağlama Players from the Perspective of Social Gender". In 2019, she assigned as a Doctor Instructor in I.T.U. T.M.S.C Vocal Bachelor of Arts Program. Beside her researches, she is continuing her concerts both in Turkey and abroad.

Workshop: Mouth and Larynx Technics

Seminar: Traditional Music and Its Structure Within Gender Roles

Volkan KAPLAN is a musician, tonmaister, arranger, lecturer and producer. He was born in 1987 in Istanbul. He took his first music lessons in Erdal Erzincan Music Course and he preparred for Conservatory entrance exams in this music course center. He started studying at “Instrument Training Department in 2001. He has been continuing his studies at Music Technology Department. He presented his five albums solo(Berhava), duo (An), trio (Harabat), quartet (Mail), mixed (Bize Kalan Miras) in 2018.

He has cooperated with lots of leading musicians such as Arif Sağ, Orhan Gencebay, Erdal Erzincan, Sabahat Akkiraz, Cengiz Özkan, Derya Türkan, Şirin Pancaroğlu, Muharrem Temiz, Aysun Gültekin, Zafer Gündoğdu, Tuncay Kemertaş, Adile Kurt Karatepe, Nida Ateş, İmamyar Hasanov, Kardeş Türküler, Hüseyin Turan, Kubat, Sizzle Ohtaka, Erkan Oğur – İsmail Hakkı Demircioğlu, Tarkan. He is teaching students in his own Bağlama School.

He founded his own firm “VOLKAN KAPLAN PRODUCTION “ in 2016 aiming to produce highly qualified music. He produced 18 albums betwen 2017-2018. Nowadays he is preparing instrumental, folk, jazz, ethnic music albums for 2019-2020.

Workshop Title: Bağlama Açış (Improvising in a Song Intro with Bağlama) & Usage of Bağlama in Studio (recording, mix and mastering)