Xijtemiki* Resident Music Collective

Ketan Bhatti born in New Delhi (India) is a composer, percussionist and border crosser between different genre and cultural worlds. His work ranges from contemporary chamber music to experimental music and dance theater to electronic, hip-hop-based productions. Since 2003, he has composed the music for Nuran David Calis’ theater productions with his brother Vivan Bhatti, and since 2009 for the shows of the urban Berlin dance company Flying Steps. With Cymin Samawatie, Ketan Bhatti founded the Trickster Orchestra in 2013 as a chamber orchestra for contemporary, transtraditional sound worlds and experimental methods of elaboration.

Eleonora Gotopo is a singer, composer, orchestra conductor and educator. The Venezuelan is now based in Berlin, she has studied, taught, and conducted orchestras at the renowned Venezuelan program for children and youth El Sistema. Her current projects include a collaboration with Amanda Piña’s piece Endangered Human Movements, performed at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin; composing the soundtrack for the Angolan film Para lá dos meus passos, premiered at Encounters (South Africa) and Cinedans (Amsterdam); and her solo artist debut: her song Malembe.

Ali Hasan is a Syrian musician born in Damascus (Syria) and living in Berlin. He is co-founder of Baynatan, the Arabic library at ZLB Berlin and founder of Wir gehören der Musik. He plays regularly for the Dabke group invited by Sasha Waltz & Guests and recently performed at United We Stream.

Clemens Rynkowski is a composer, thereminist and musical director. He lives in Berlin and works transdisciplinary for orchestra, chamber ensembles, film, dance, theater and music theater. Previous positions: Berliner Ensemble, Bavarian State Opera Munich, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken, Nationaltheater Weimar, Staatstheater Braunschweig, Goethe-Institut Ramallah. Lectureships at the universities of Weimar, Rostock, Erfurt.

Nathaly Al Gindi began her musical education at the age of nine in the Venezuelan “El sistema” in Caracas (Venezuela). From 2003 to 2017 she learned and studied double bass at the Conservatorio de Música Simón Bolívar and during this time, as well as until today, she has been internationally active in various orchestras. Between 2007 and 2010 she also studied automotive engineering at the IUTI and analog photography at the Instituto Roberto Mata, also in Caracas. In 2020 she completed her artistic studies in double bass at the Universität der Künste Berlin, after which she began her master’s degree in the same subject at the Universität Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden.

Moussa Coulibaly comes from a large “griot” family from Burkina Faso and Mali. He plays all traditional instruments like balafon, ngoni, djembe, doundoun and talking drum with virtuosity and sings with an expressive voice. His musical education began at the age of 6. Moussa has played with renowned groups in Burkina Faso and on various tours in Europe and has been living in Berlin since 2012. He plays traditional West African rhythms and improvisations, he composes his own pieces and songs and he accompanies salsa, reggae, jazz and techno music. He takes part in workshops and performances of traditional and contemporary African dancers and teaches all traditional West African instruments individually and in groups.

Daria Fomina is a virtuosic flautist from Kharkiv, Ukraine. In her hometown Daria worked at a music school, where she had more than 30 students. The daughter of well-known Ukrainian klezmer clarinetist Gennadiy Fomin, Daria grew up with the sounds of Yiddish music in her house and from a young age she participated in artistic and organisational direction of Kharkiv Klezmer Teg – an annual international festival dedicated to Yiddish music in Ukraine. Now, fleeing the war Daria is based in Hamburg and is working to support her Homeland from Germany, while her parents remain in Kharkiv.

Jorge Moyeja, was born in Venezuela in 1995. As a child he studied piano and traditional instruments. In 2006 he started violin in “El Sistema”. After graduating from high school, he completed his bachelor’s degree in violin and a diploma in orchestral conducting. He participated in numerous master classes, with important violinists such as Daniel Strabawa, Mihaela Martin, Jose Francisco del Castillo, among others. As a musician, he has been active in Venezuela in various orchestras, including Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and Teresa Carreño Symphony Orchestra, and has performed as an orchestral musician, soloist and in chamber music formations in Venezuela and Europe.

Gabo Naas is a versatile musician and composer, who lives in Berlin since 2008. He comes from Puerto Santa Cruz, Patagonia, southern Argentina. There he was born and soon followed the call of music. In addition to the guitar, the violin and the saxophone, Gabo plays instruments such as clarinet, Bolivian charango, electric bass and percussion, he has also incorporated music styles such as jazz, Latin jazz, Argentine folklore and tango, classical music, blues and funk.

Hakan Tuğrul is an Istanbul-born composer and santoor musician. Started his music career in 2009 and since then has been involved in santur solo and various transcultural music projects. In 2018 he moved to Berlin and continues his music career here.

Maria Viksnina (Zaporozhye, Ukraine) is the only classical torban player in the world. She is currently a master’s student of early music at the Berlin University of the Arts. Maria participates in various concerts, festivals, master classes where she plays solo, in ensembles, orchestras or rock groups on instruments such as torban, bandura, hurdy-gurdy, theorbo, baroque guitar and renaissance lute. She won first places in international and all-Ukrainian competitions..