(B)randprogramma: Modern Myths

Euro-Caribbean language and tone artist Marc Alberto tours internationally as a saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist and spoken-word artist. Their work and activism dismantle colonial structures, by any means necessary, but often from knowledge, craftsmanship and radical vulnerability. Marc (they/them) is also active as a composer of film, theatre and chamber music, as well as working as a musical dramaturg, poet and artistic researcher.

Andrea Voets is artistic director of Resonate Productions . She makes musical journalism by combining investigative journalism with lots of original music. Previous projects include Millennial History (Best Podcasts of 2022, Avery Trufelman) and While We Live (Best of Classical Music 2020, NRC). Right now, she is undertaking a worldwide artistic search into the question ‘how to feel safe’, with support of the selective FastForward-grant. Since 2013, Andrea lives and works in Greece for a few months per year. So far, she made two works of musical journalism about the country: While We Live (2020) and XENITIA (2016).

Anastasis was born in Athens. He studied music, cultural anthropology and media in Greece and the UK. Since 2015 he has lived in Amsterdam, developing his work in storytelling and theatre as a musical director, teacher, performer and host.

For his work in setting up the grammar school department at the Ir. Lely Lyceum in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, he was awarded the title Amsterdammer of the Year in 2020: an honour for this born and bred Amsterdammer. In his classes, he tries to convey the power of Greek and Roman stories to his students. These stories contain wonderful starting points for engaging in discussions with young people about issues that concern them, and countless generations before them, all over the world. What does bravery mean? Where does love come from? Why do people do what they do?

Marina Lagou was born in Athens. She earned a degree in Archaeology and Art History at the Faculty of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a postgraduate degree in Contemporary Art Theory at the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, and a postgraduate degree in Cultural Management at the Panteion University. She has worked as an independent art curator, as an educator, and has organised numerous cultural seminars and events. Her research interests revolve around contemporary artistic creation, art in public spaces, cinema, music, experimental writing, oral history, social anthropology, and feminist theory and practice. Together with Gelly Gryntaki, they have formed the feminist group “My Dearest Lady Friends,” from which the eponymous podcast about feminism and writing is produced. She lives and works as a History, Modern and Ancient Greek Language teacher on the Greek island of Ikaria.

Anita van der Hulst worked for many years as a journalist, as editor and reporter at Radio 1. Together with Paul Öfner, she made a large number of long background reports in Eastern Europe, including on the poor living conditions of Roma there. That interest culminated in 2022 in the dissertation Wegbereiders. Roma and Sinti in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic on the benefits of education. In 2022-2023, she was commissioned by the cities of Utrecht and Amersfoort to research the disenfranchisement of Sinti and Roma in those municipalities during the years 1940-1945.

Carla Hardy graduated from the Amsterdam School of Drama in 1980 and worked as an actress with many theatre companies. In 1982, she made her debut with the female lead in director Lily Rademakers' film Menuet. Menuet became the Dutch entry for the Cannes Film Festival that year. She is known for her role of Hetty Hartsuiker in the TV series We are home again by Wim T. Schippers, various Lolamoviolas, Policiers (Baantjer, Flikken Maastricht), Jiskefet, Lotte and Circus Treurdier, among others. She also made her own productions such as Brieven naar Zee (Letters to the Sea) about a bargee's wife on Texel, Bachstress and Roodkapje het ware verhaal. In the last three years, she developed and directed an extensive art installation on the life and history of Roma and Sinti. The upcoming edition opens 4 May in the palace garden in The Hague. She is currently creating a performance with two musicians about the composer and contra-bassist Giovanni Botticini.

Anastasis was born in Athens. He studied music, cultural anthropology and media in Greece and the UK. Since 2015 he has lived in Amsterdam, developing his work in storytelling and theatre as a musical director, teacher, performer and host.

George (Yorgos) Kokkonis studied jazz composition-orchestration (CIM) and musicology at Paris VIII University, focusing on Greek music (art and popular). In 1997, he received a Master (DEA) from Paris VIII University (The tonal period of the composer Y.A. Papaioannou) and in 2006 at the same university a PHD (The issue of greekness in Greek art music).

From 1987 to 1990, he worked in Paris at the Bibliothèque Publique d’Information (Centre National d’Art et de Culture “Georges Pompidou”) and at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. In 1991, he assumed the position of musicologists-Librarian in the Library of IRCAM – CNRS in Paris and remained in that position until late 1993 when he returned to Greece. In 1998, he was the principal coordinator of the foundation of the Department of Traditional Music, TEI of Epirus (Arta) and the Department of Technology of Musical Instruments, TEI of Ionian Islands (Lixouri). Since 2002 he is a permanent staff member at the Department of Traditional Music head of the Music Documentation Laboratory and Greek Music Archives.

Yvonne Melissa was born in Kavala in 1998. She began her studies on the violin at the age of seven, under the tutelage of Z. Zlateva. She studied classical violin and music theory and obtained her diploma with “excellency unanimously” in 2022 at “Orfeio” Conservatory in Athens, guided by her professors M. Plesti and D. Semsis. From 2023 is a student of Codarts WMDC (Rotterdam, Netherlands) – Bachelor of Turkish music.She has been a member of many orchestras, as well as in numerous and various chamber musical ensembles, seminars ( chamber music enseble with A. Liakakis and T. Gouvelis, Classical violin with M. Szlezer, experimental violin with F. Siotas, composition and arrangement with B. Papadopoulos, anatolian violin with G. Papaioannou, M. Kouloumis, composition and arrangement with C. Erdogan, Ensemble of Kudsi Erguner, Greek traditional music with M.Mavroeidi etc. ) and she has performed in some of the most important music scenes of the country. She has composed the music in dance performances and short movies. Moreover, she is a post-graduate student of National and Kapodistrian Athens Law School. Her first disc named “Myrra” with T. Kofodimos released in December of 2023.

Vanessa Kourtesi is a music maker, vocalist and songwriter originally from Athens,Greece and based in Rotterdam, NL. Her music derives from her roots, the East Mediterranean and Greek modal music, jazz, pop, ambient and improvisation. As a songwriter and lyricist she narrates memories from reality and imagination exploring the limits between poetry and song.

Josué Amador is a composer, improvising performer, and researcher, based in Rotterdam. With a strong grounding in experimental music, improvisation, and sound studies, Amador's practice reflects a keen interest in exploring the various dimensions of sound and its impact on human perception. His work delves into experimental approaches to music composition and performance, incorporating various forms of improvisation and indeterminacy.

Retired University Lecturer of Turkish (study: English, Greek and Turkish). Passionate music lover, with a special interest in Turkish and Greek music. Collector researcher/discographer of old 78rpm gramophone records.Published numerous articles on these subjects. Owner of website about recording engineers (worldwide): www.recordingpioneers.com. Made “live” recordings of rebetika concerts. Amateur-player of baglamas and bouzouki and member of the group “Psefti Dounja”. Built a number of baglamades and a tzouras.

Juliano Abramovay is a versatile musician, composer, and researcher with a passion for exploring diverse music traditions. After studying classical guitar at São Paulo's Municipal School of Music and musicology at University of São Paulo, Juliano delved into fretless guitar and oud, researching traditional music from Greece and Turkey. He obtained his masters at Codarts (Rotterdam) before proceeding with a PhD research project at Durham. Currently, Juliano is a teacher at Codarts, where he is actively involved with the Rotterdam Arts and Science Lab (RASL) and with research disciplines.