Artistic Mentors 2020

Kieren Alexander, Australia

Accordion

Originally from Australia, Kieren took a fascination to folk music in his days as a student, which has since enveloped his musical life. He has been involved with ETHNO since moving to Europe in 2012, and has had the pleasure to lead at various editions over the years, including ETHNO Germany, ETHNO Portugal and ETHNO Flanders. He has a lot of musical interests, but has spent a great deal of time playing Latin, Balkan, Jazz and Balfolk. When he's not travelling, he is based in Prague, where he plays with a number of bands of various sizes and shapes.

Žofka Kašparová, Czech Republic

Flute

A versatile flute player from Czech Republic, living in Gothenburg, Sweden for the past four years. Recently she’s done a four months trip to Australia, India and Sri Lanka searching for inspiration in both music and spiritual practice. Žofka started as a classical flute player, but found her passion in folk music and improvisation. She moved to Sweden and graduated there in “World Music” on Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. Žofka loves odd meters, experiments and fusions. She’s been a part of Etno Histeria Umeuropa Caravan 2014, Ethno Histeria and Rila Music Exchange in Bulgaria several times and she organized Prague Folk Marathon in 2013/14 together with Kieren Alexander. Currently she’s a part of various projects of various genres in Sweden (arabic, swedish, jazz, experimental,...) composing her own music and teaching.

Mouloud Mammeri, Algeria

Guitar

Originally from Sahara in the Algerian side, he is a self-taught musician since he was 13 years old, playing Punk, Metal, Reggae, African and World Music, with an intense experience and performances in many concerts and events inside and outside Algeria. Mouloud has been playing traditional and North African folk (Gnawa, Chaabi and Raï music) as session musician in weddings and traditional occasions. He discovered the ETHNO movement through an international exchange musical project. He has been now a participant in five ETHNO Camps (Ethno France, Ethno Catalonia, Ethno Estonia, Ethno Flanders and ETHNO Germany Music Camp). Mouloud is based in Tübingen, Germany since two and a half years, where he plays in different bands. He plays Desert Blues with Bazaar, Cumbia from Latin America with Combo Cumbiale, Balkan with Bayram Agusevi Band and ETHNO music with DieVagari.

Nemat Battah, Jordan, Palestina

Voice

Nemat Battah is a singer and oud player from Jordan with Palestinian origins.
She finished her bachelor’s degree of music in Jordan, her first Master’s degree in Gothenburg-Sweden, where she studied world music interpretation performance. At the moment, she is attending the Nordic Master of Global Music program at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. Nemat started singing traditional Arabic music at the age of eight, and since then she has participated in many concerts inside and outside Jordan. Nemat has been participating in Ethnos since 2014 in Sweden, Germany and Flanders and she has been participating and teaching in Folk Marathons since 2016/2017 in Germany, Czech Republic and Portugal. She has been an Artistic Leader in Mini Ethno Germany 2017 and 2018.

Sami Karkar, France

Percussion

After 25 years of intense music experience of all kinds, Sami finally discovered folk and traditional music through the ETHNO movement. Sami has now been a participant to more than 10 ethnos and ethno-like events - a true Ethno veteran! Sami is based in Lyon (France) and plays percussion in a New Orleans-style brassband Marcel Frontale, as well as guitar in the Kabyle music band ILES (berber music from Northern Algeria). He is at the moment touring South America with his ethno music duo Vilma&Sami.

Catarina Ascensão, Portugal

Dance

Graduated in Contemporary Dance and Choreography (2006), in Portugal, attended a master in Education through Art – Theater. Catarina develops her work between teaching, creating/performing and a path in holistic therapies. Until 2011 Catarina worked as a full time freelancer, mainly in Portugal, combining her artistic work as a dancer in different dance/theater companies and as a teacher in several schools. In 2012, she left this path, started to travel and deepen her holistic research, mainly in India, France and Portugal, with different approaches, discovering bridges between her background and the connection between movement / life / healing. Also in 2012, she started to deepen her knowledge in traditional dances and world music, discovering a new passion. Since then, she has been leading workshops and intensive courses over Europe. Since 2016 she is Dance Artistic Leader in Ethno Portugal, and since 2018, co-coordinating the project with Juanra Campos. In 2019 ETHNO Germany Music Camp will have Dancers for the first time and she will be their Artistic Mentor.
www.catarinaascensao.weebly.com

Sami Karkar, France-Tunisia

After 25 years of intense music experience of all kinds, Sami finally discovered folk and traditional music through the Ethno movement. He has now been a participant to more than 20 Ethno music camps and related events - a true Ethno veteran! Sami has lately been based mostly in France, spending some time in Finland, and traveling a lot in Europe and the Mediterranean, and he recently moved to Tübingen (Germany). His most recent projects are the ethno music duo Vilma&Sami, and the Ethno Tunisia music camp that will be launched in 2021.