Mouth Ensemble – Eργαστήριο BeatboxΓιώργος Γαργάλας
26 March 2026
Arabic Music Workshop: Voice and Musical EnsembleZiad Rajab
26 March 2026Tarab
Coordination: Andys Skordis
Duration: 30 hours
Hours: 10.00 – 14.00 & 17.00 – 19.00
(the hours may be adjusted to meet the needs of the workshop)
Language: English, Greek
25 - 31 August
(25.8 arrival date / 31.8 departure date)
Tarab stands for the ecstasy that comes from sound in Arabic.
This workshop will introduce music principles from different cultures that connect performances to a ‘trance’ state; both as a listener or a performer. Participants will get to explore Karnatic and Gamelan music as well as rhythmical structures from the Caribbean and West Africa. Polyrhythms, interlocking structures, rhythmical modulation, intonation and vertical rhythmical development will all be studied and later on applied through composition and improvisation.
The workshop is open to professional and amateur musicians who want to develop their rhythmical perception and skills, and wish to explore various musical traditions. Those wishing to attend the workshop may bring the musical instrument of their choice or use their voice as a mean of performance. Throughout the workshop, we will perform the elements that we will be studying and use them as a foundation for improvisation. Finally, we will also create a collective composition with all the material that we will present at the end of the seminar.
Andys Skordis
Andys Skordis (Cyprus, 1983) is a composer of contemporary music, with a work list of more than 80 pieces, including operas, orchestral and chamber pieces, Gamelan music, site-specific works, as well as music for dance, theatre and film.
His music is often characterized as archaic and dark, resulting in performances which are frequently compared with rituals or ceremonial occurrences.
He has received performances of his works worldwide, and has received international recognition through prizes including the BUMA Toonzetters prize, the Berlin Opera Prize, the Black Pencil Prize as well as awards by ISCM, Fedora Platform, Third Coast Percussion group, Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, and more.
Besides composing he is the founder of the contemporary music ensemble “PATSIAOURA” and he is a co-founder of the Ritual Opera Collective.
Skordis studied composition at Berklee College of Music and at the Conservatorium Van Amsterdam, with additional studies in Karnatic music at the Conservatorium Van Amsterdam and in Balinese Gamelan at ISI Denpasar in Bali.