Sound Bridge |
The Sound Bridge program brings together musicians from Armenia, Türkiye, and Georgia to co-create original music and develop creative approaches to dialogue. The program, which takes place from July 10 - 31, 2023, includes a two and a half week residency in Svaneti, Georgia, where Sound Bridge Fellows will create collaborative new works. The program culminates with four days in Tbilisi, Georgia, where Fellows will present these works to local audiences.
Steeped in the rich traditions of Svaneti, Georgia, Sound Bridge Fellows will imagine and forge new connections with their environment and each other, activated by creative collaboration, and mutual understanding.
Sound Bridge is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State produced by Found Sound Nation.
2023 Fellows
Arman Peshtmaljyan (Armenia) is a composer, arranger, keyboardist/pianist, songwriter, and music producer who has ventured into diverse genres such as techno, D'n'B, lo-fi hip hop, dream pop, and psychedelic soul, creating a truly distinctive sound. Along with writing and releasing his own compositions, Arman is an integral member of the MVF Band, Yerevan Calling Band, Zestengusto and other well-known bands in Armenia.
Başak Günak (Turkiye) is a sound artist and composer, also internationally known as AH! KOSMOS in the field of electronic music. In addition to her musical compositions with AH! KOSMOS, Günak pursues sound experimentations as a sound artist, composing soundscapes for theater, contemporary dance, film and visual art projects, and conducting site-specific performances. Her works have been featured worldwide in several festivals and institutions.
Ceren Turkmenoglu (Turkiye) is a violinist and composer, trained in Turkiye, Germany and the USA. She has worked in notable orchestras and ensembles throughout the world, currently resuming her tenured position at the Ankara State Opera and Ballet orchestra. Apart from her classical music career, she performs Turkish music on traditional instruments and conducts ethnomusicological research. Her début album, Mâi, featuring her original compositions and arrangements was released in 2021.
Danae Palaka (Turkiye) is an Istanbul-based drummer and artist. Born in Athens to a musical family partially hailing from Istanbul, she relocated to Istanbul to explore the city’s heritage and her own roots. Her energetic drumming style merges Anatolian, Balkan and Afrobeat rhythms, UK jazz and electronic music, and her research into alternative qualities of the drumkit results in new soundscapes and conceptual projects. Her first solo album will be released in 2023.
Ege Şahin (Turkiye) makes avant-garde experimental music as a composer, performer, and sound artist. He plays various types of guitars, synths, field recordings, to create evocative and emotive music. Born in Turkey, a borderland, he roamed to different cultures and subcultures over time. While studying composition at conservatory, he spent time in Istanbul’s jazz and experimental-electronic music scene and is currently conducting research around sound's ability to trespass material borders at the Institute of Sonology in the Hague.
Irakli Korkotashvili (Georgia) is a drummer, improviser, composer and teacher based in Tbilisi, Georgia. He graduated in jazz and composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and has extensive experience in a diversity of musical genres, including rock, jazz, progressive-rock, fusion, free improvised music, and experimental electronics.
Melisa Yıldırım (Turkiye) is an Istanbul-based kamancha player with roots in Alevi culture. Graduating from Istanbul Conservatory (ITU), she researches improvisation and music philosophy as a Masters student at the University Arts of Helsinki. She has participated in festivals and residencies around the world, including solo kamancha performances at the Women of the World Festival in 2021 and the EFG London Jazz Festival at the Barbican Center. She also composes music inspired by traditional Anatolian music forms.
Nino Davadze (Georgia) is an experimental musician and multimedia artist based in Tbilisi, Georgia who combines avant-garde, electronic soundscapes with choral singing, synthetic vocals, and spoken word. Apart from her artistic practice in performance and production, she's actively involved in managing community gatherings and projects in Georgia. She is the author and radio host of Mutant Radio, which focuses on gender politics in creative industries in Post Soviet countries as well as the co-founder, of Plazm - an inclusive platform for contemporary music and dance.
Sergey Umroyan (Armenia), aka. URMIA, is a composer, producer and singer from Gyumri in Armenia. He graduated from Yerevan State Conservatory with a masters degree and is now a lecturer at Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory, as well as the head of the Acoustic Laboratory. His music has been performed at several international festivals and projects such as Composers Union’s Festival, Haro Stepanian Fest, and the “Crossroads” contemporary music days in Armenia.
Shushan Tamanyan (Armenia) is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in bass and double bass. She is currently studying classic double bass at Yerevan State Conservatory, while also actively performing and singing in several different projects. She is the frontwoman and bassist of Degh, an Armenian alternative rock band.
Tamara Atanesyan (Armenia) is a vocalist, improviser, conductor and teacher from Armenia. She co-founded and sings in the folk band "Shushiki" and works at the Nexus Center for the Arts in Yerevan as a music educator. Tamara exhibits a breadth of experience with collaborations of all kinds, from working with young kids to Armenian folks groups to storytellers and improvisers.
Tigran Aleksanyan is a composer, electronic music producer and keyboardist/pianist, who now composes, performs, and designs sound for theater. Tigran’s musical experience is highly creative and collaborative, featuring live performances that are hybrid acts of acoustic, electronic music and poetry.
Tigran Aleksanyan (Armenia) is a composer, electronic music producer and keyboardist/pianist, who now composes, performs, and designs sound for theater. Tigran’s musical experience is highly creative and collaborative, featuring live performances that are hybrid acts of acoustic, electronic music and poetry.