Improvisation | Summer 2023

Join Swarupa Ananth-Sawkar and Melisa Yildirim for this one-off master class in improvisation and collaboration across all instruments and voices. We welcome all levels of experience, and all or no musical backgrounds.

When: Mon 26th June, 18:00-21:00 BST

Where: Room TBC, SOAS University of London

Swarupa and Melisa are outstanding musicians who have brought together two musical traditions, through collaborative improvisation. Co-creators of the album Hues of Imagination, they are now touring the UK together and sharing their knowledge of the art of improvisation across musical vocabularies. In this class, you will:

- Hear about the instruments and improvisational techniques of the course leaders: Swarupa on tabla and Melisa on Kamancheh

- Through discussion, meditation and practice, learn to co-create using collaborative improvisation

This workshop is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Course Description

Meet your course leaders

Swarupa Ananth-Sawkar

Swarupa Ananth-Sawkar is a bold young Indian percussionist and producer, ranked in the Forbes India 30 under 30 list. She has been a prolific entertainer from a young age, under the mentorship of Ustad Allarakha & Ustad Zakir Hussain. Her debut album Raagtronic, released in 2014, reached #1 on the iTunes India charts. As a performer and producer, Swarupa has collaborated with many national and international artists, sharing the stage with some of India’s biggest musical luminaries including Talvin Singh and A.R. Rahman, and is a well established entrepreneur in the Indian music scene, having served as A&R Manager for EMI Music India. Swarupa recently launched an online music school, Tablanaari’s School Of Music, that promotes Indian Classical music with world class artists teaching rich traditional material in a holistic manner.

Melisa Yildirim

Melisa works with various professional artists around the world and composes music close to traditional Anatolian music forms. Her style ranges from Sufi music to Anatolian folk, as well as Iranian genres and contemporary world music. Born in Istanbul to a family with Alevi culture, she discovered kemane (kamancha) in the early years of high school. She graduated from the Conservatory of Turkish Music in Istanbul Technical University (ITU) with first class honours. She released her first percussive composition, 'Dreamer', in 2017 and released an instrumental duo album (anatolian kamancha & fretless guitar) 'Taluş' with Gilad Weiss in 2021. She has participated in a number of prestigious festivals and residencies, including 'Making Tracks' (UK) and Women of the World Festival (online) and OneBeat (USA).