2024 Fellows
Eliza Baghdiyan (Armenia) is a musician and visual artist hailing from Armenia, who combines design, drawing, performance, and singing into her art. She is a co-founder, art director, composer, songwriter, and performer of the band Tiezerk, which has created over 100 compositions and arrangements, including compositions for contemporary dance and film, and toured in the USA, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and Georgia.
Gökçe Uygun (Turkey) Uygun is an Istanbul-based composer, performer, director and sound designer. She is founder of the "ENDOPHASIA" trans-media project, a member of “NodDuo," a multidisciplinary sound-based art collective, and a performer in the “ODD” live experimental improvisation band. Her educational background is in classical, jazz and modern/new music, but she also has experience in performing arts, staging, improvisation, audIo technologies, sound dramaturgy and trans-media storytelling. She has also worked in writing, dancing, and drawing focused on language, space and perception. Beginning from 2018, as a result of her draw towards the body and movement in relation with sound, she has been working and producing in theatre communities, laboratories, and exhibitions as a live performer, multimedia artist, and sound designer.
Hailing from Armenia, Gor Tadevosyan (Armenia) began his journey learning traditional Armenian Tar alongside his grandfather. He went on to co-found the groundbreaking band JINJ, an Armobeat project that features a fusion of electronic beats, French hip-hop, and Armenian folk melodies, and has traveled and performed in France, Canada, Spain, Estonia and Cote D'Ivoire with this sound. Beyond the stage, Gor is dedicated to using music as a force for good, from creating workshops and music therapy to heal wounded soldiers to empowering the next generation of artists.
Irakli Margishvili (Georgia), aka. Progenol, is a musician and multimedia artist from Tbilisi, Georgia. He writes and produces experimental music by combining chopped samples, found sounds and live performance. Having worked on sound design and music for film, Progenol explores audiovisual media and narrative through form, and for the past year, has been participating in collaborative performances and working with live visuals.
Kay Khachatryan (Armenia), aka. nystagmus, is a sound artist, relentless experimenter, and an explorer of obscure sonic phenomena from Yerevan. Known for using field recordings and self-built devices to capture and manipulate sounds, his work focuses on preserving the authenticity of street and acoustic noises, while exploring the timbre and psychological aspects of sound. A veteran of Yerevan's underground, Kay has been prolific in a wide range of underground genres — from raw punk-rock and metal to futuristic deconstruction of club music.
Lusine MLKE-Galstyan (Armenia) is an accomplished musician, flutist, and multi-instrumentalist from Armenia. In 2016, she co-founded the band Tiezerk, where she creates music, writes lyrics and produces. As a composer and performer, she works with MIHR Theatre and shares her experience as a teacher at the online platform Dasa2. Lusine has been touring and sharing musical talents with audiences across the globe, including USA, Poland, Georgia, Switzerland, and Germany.
Mar Margaryan (Armenia) performs Armenian traditional musical instrument on the kanun, which she began playing when she was 7 years old. Along with being an accomplished kanun player, Mar also plays other instruments such as the lyre, harp, ukulele, percussion and voice, and is learning to produce tracks on Ableton live.
Mariami Gujejiani (Georgia) is a singer, chanter and future conductor living in the Republic of Georgia. She sings in various ensembles and teaches Georgian folk, city and chant songs.
Omer Akalin (Turkey) is a producer, bass player and builder of sound producing devices who lives in Istanbul. He performs both solo and in collaboration with other musicians, exploring various avenues in music. He has a keen interest in understanding how things work, but has also come to realize that knowing isn’t strictly cerebral, and sometimes beyond intentionality or reason; he believe this to be the case with music among other things. One time he was offered roasted marmot out of a plastic bag in Mongolia, but he didn’t know what it was at the time. Now he is a vegetarian.
Onur Senturk (Turkey) is a multi-instrumentalist who began his music career by playing bağlama (saz) in high school. In his undergraduate years, he became interested in traditional Black Sea music and began to play panduri, tulum and kemenche. In 2008, he moved to Istanbul and has been involved in several music projects and bands, such as Helesa, Kafdağı Müzik Topluluğu, Vova, Sonbahar Kumpanya, and Kardeş Türküler. He has also participated in several international music projects and performed in international music festivals in many different countries. He received his Ph.D degree in Performance at MIAM in 2023. He currently lives in Thessaloniki and is a member of the band Argatia.
Seçil Metin (Turkey) is a composer, improviser, singer-songwriter, sound designer, and storyteller based in Istanbul. Her works blends experimental and traditional, acoustic and electronic sonic worlds that takes listener to ambient journeys. She creates dreamy atmospheres with the manipulation of everyday sounds, soundscapes, acoustic and digital instruments. Voice, trumpet and sound design form the backbone of her musical works. Alongside producing original compositions, she produces and sound designs for visual media, dance, theatre and interdisciplinary works. he recently released electroacoustic compositions on the Berlin ElektraMusic label. She is also a founder and performer of many interdisciplinary performance collectives.
Zelişah (Turkey) is a Turkish vocalist and musician rooted in Zaza heritage. She graduated from ethnomusicology at Istanbul University and sings in Turkish, Zazaki, Kurdish, and Armenian, while also playing Duduk, Anatolian Kamança, and Ruzba. She has shared the stage with the Iranian band "Rastak", the Turkish ensemble "Anadolu Quartet", and performed in Athens alongside Sokratis Sinopoulos and Vasilis Kostas. Zelisah has also participated in the IKSV Jazz Festival in Istanbul with the Jazz Band NEFSAZ. She has been featured on Turkish television TRT's show "Sesler Alemi" and appeared on the YouTube Channel "PortakalAltı Kayıtları" with Cem Erdost Ileri. In 2024, she is researching her first solo album, focusing on unearthing Zaza and Armenian traditional folk songs
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 (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.