Fretless  Guitar  &  Kopuz  by  Erkan  Oğur  July  16-­‐21,  2012  

The  Musical  Workshop  Labyrinth  is  very  pleased  to  be  able  to  present  a  seminar  this  summer  with  Erkan  Oğur.  Erkan  Ogur  is  one  of  the  most  significant  figures  in  Turkish  music  in  recent  decades  and  his  work  with  the  fretless  guitar  as  well  as  with  a  special  type  of  saz  known  as  kopuz  has  been  nothing  short  of  revolutionary.  Erkan  Ogur  is  not  merely  a  significant  virtuoso,  however.  His  arrangements  of  Turkish  traditional  songs  have  totally  changed  the  way  in  which  musicians  approach  this  material.    These  arrangements  rely  on  a  unique  aesthetic  approach,  which  brings  together  in  an  exceptionally  harmonious  manner  both  strictly  traditional  as  well  as  highly  original  and  contemporary  elements.  This  seminar  however  is  definitely  not  for  beginners;  it  is  especially  for  particularly  advanced  musicians  

who  are  interested  and  experienced  in  pursuing  a  creative  and  innovative  approach  to  traditional  material.  

Balkan  Rythms  &  Repertoire  by  Ivan Varimezov    23 - 28 July, 2012  

Ivan  Varimezov  was  born  in  Bulgaria  and  received  a  B.A.  degree  in  folk  instrument  performance  and  ensemble  conducting  from  the  Academy  of  Music  and  Dance  in  Plovdiv.  Raised  in  the  traditions  of  his  native  region  of  Strandzha,  he  is  one  of  the  most  outstanding  gaida  (bagpipe)  players  of  his  generation,  and  he  has  many  solo  recordings  and  awards  to  his  name.  During  the  1980s  he  was  the  director  of  the  instrumental  ensemble  of  a  regional  professional  ensemble  of  folk  song  and  dance  in  the  town  of  Pazardzhik.  During  the  1990s  he  moved  to  Sofia  to  become  the  soloist  with  the  orchestra  of  folk  instruments  at  Radio  and  Television  Sofia,  a  position  occupied  for  twenty-­‐five  years  by  his  famous  uncle,  Kostadin  Varimezov.  He  came  to  the  U.S.  in  2001  to  teach  at  UCLA.  

Tar & Iranian Radif by Araz Salek 13 - 18 August, 2012

Born in 1980 in Tehran, Iran, Araz Salek began playing the tar at the age of eight under the instruction of Tofigh Iranparvar. He continued his study of Mousa Khan's instrumental radif under the supervision of maestro Houshang Zarif. Araz, then deepened his understanding of the Persian musical tradition by studying Mirza Abdollah's instrumental radif and Davami's vocal Radif with Arshad Tahmasebi.

After moving to Toronto, Salek released his first and critically acclaimed solo CD 'Birth' in 2008. He later co-founded the Shiraz Ensemble, which has already made its mark at numerous concerts in Canada. Salek also furthered his experimental tendencies with Shiraz, and with a number of cross-cultural collaborations with musicians of various backgrounds and musical traditions.

Tamburello & Italian Percussion by Carlo Rizzo 30 July - 04 August, 2012

Carlo Rizzo, one of Italy’ s most innovative musicians, is especially well known for playing tambourine-like frame drums of his own creation. Particularly notable are two tambourines containing a complex tuning mechanism which give him the ability to utilize sounds and techniques from a wide variety of drums from the tambourine family such as the Italian Tamburello, the Brazilian Pandeiro, the South Indian Kanjira, and the Arabic Riqq.

Carlo Rizzo began his long process of the research of new sounds after many years of working with all of the traditional rhythmic forms of South Italy such as "Tarantelle" and "Tammurriate" in collaboration with local musicians. For Carlo Rizzo the traditions of the past present a creative challenge and a starting point for new creations and innovations rather than

something to be simply copied and repeated. Indicative of this is his introduction of two-handed techniques to the Italian tambourines, the Kanjira and the Riqq.

Today, after many years of research and a long career as a soloist, Carlo Rizzo teaches a master-class in which he presents a new approach to rhythms in which the traditional and the contemporary blend and alternate harmoniously. In this class the student will be taught a wide variety of different rhythms as well as being guided in the principles of improvisation.

New Roads for Ney by Amir Shahsar

6 - 11 August, 2012

This year the Musical Workshop Labyrinth is placing special emphasis on seminars and master-classes featuring musicians who have taken a creative and innovative approach to traditional material and instruments. In this context an especially interesting example is Amir Shahsar. Amir is originally from Iran but lives today in Israel

where he has been for approximately 2 decades. His initial studies were of the Persian traditional style (radif) of ney as well as of classical western flute. However, ever since he left his native Iran he has been in constant contact and cooperation with musicians from many different styles and disciplines and has, as a result, found many innovative ways to incorporate the ney into these different genres in a harmonious and tasteful way. He is especially well known for his highly imaginative and original improvisations of exceptional beauty in which one can clearly see the meeting of the various traditions, which have shaped his musical world.

The preferred instrument for this seminar will be the Persian ney, although other types of ney are also suitable. Anyone interested in acquiring a Persian ney should contact us in advance and we will assist them in this to the best of our abilities.

Bodhrán & Irish Percussion by Robbie Harris 20 - 25 August, 2012

Robbie Harris is a bodhrán player and percussionist. Over the years he has recorded and performed with artists such as: Bobby McFerrin, Bob Geldof, Clannad, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Moya Brennan, Dónal Lunny, Steve Cooney and world music artists such as, Hector Zazou, Nitin Sawhney, Theodosii Spassov, Pedram Khavar Zamini, Mamady Keita and Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan. After having toured extensively with Riverdance – The Show in 2000 he joined the Broadway production in New York. While living there he was a guest lecturer at The Julliard and The New School, NYC.

This workshop aims to provide a detailed look at the bodhrán and its use in different styles of music. After a brief review of basic technique, this class will focus on expanding rhythmic and tonal patterns on the bodhrán. Stick technique, tone production and variation will be explored in depth, and the class will put a particular emphasis on expanding the necessary skills for rhythmic improvisation within various odd time signatures.

Sound Engineering by Efren López 27 August - 1 September, 2012

In this workshop participants will be introduced to basic notions about recording acoustic music in a "home studio", in a way that is comprehensible to everybody. This is especially relevant today as an increasingly bigger number of recordings are done in "home studios". Using a very basic equipment -laptop and plug-ins - we will work on how to select and position microphones, how to use effects, give tips for mixing and explain how all this affect the final sound result. We will work primarily with ProTools and Waves plug-in, showing how these affordable tools can give very a high quality result.