Master classes

Mihail Dinchev was born and raised in Bulgaria. He is a diverse artist, whose main instrument is tambura but he also plays tupan-drum and sings. Today he is mainly active in Lele Lele Orchestra, Trio Ravnogor and European Friendship Orchestra. Besides musical career, he also has good experience in teaching at Gothenburg Academy of Music & Drama, Royal College of Music in Stockholm and Malmö Academy of music.

He has obtained a pedagogical degree from Royal College of Music in Stockholm and specialized in Bulgarian folk music and dance at Plovdiv Academy of Music, Dance & Fine Arts in Bulgaria.

Mihail Dinchev’s masterclass will focus on learning Bulgarian traditional instrumental tunes with circle dances belonging to them. All instruments are welcome!

Maximum number of participants: 25

Time of occurrence: October 3rd
at 10.15-10.25 an introduction to the day of master classes
at 10.30-12.00, 12.30-14.00 and 15.00-16.30 

Anni Järvela has grown up in Kaustinen. She has been active as a professional musician and teacher. Her workshop is about the principles and best practices of the Näppäri Method which is based on traditional music and promotes more equal distribution of the intangible benefits. Study materials are mainly created for string instruments, wind instruments in C-tuning, instruments in B-major and for accompaniment instruments.

Maximum number of participants: 15

Time of occurrence: October 3rd
at 10.15-10.25 an introduction to the day of master classes
at 10.30-12.00, 12.30-14.00 and 15.00-16.30

Location: Viljandi Culture Academy Music House (Carl Robert Jakobsoni 14, Viljandi), room 301

Tamaz Gabisonia is an ethnomusicologist and associate professor at Tbilisi Ilia State University. His workshop is about Georgian folk songs and church hymns. Participants can choose if they want to sing easier or more complicated versions. It is also an opportunity to sing with the members of Ilia State University choir who help to conduct the masterclass!

Maximum number of participants: 25

Time of occurrence: October 3rd
at 10.15-10.25 an introduction to the day of master classes
at 10.30-12.00, 12.30-14.00 and 15.00-16.30

Location: Viljandi Music School (Carl Robert Jakobsoni 15, Viljandi), small hall

Do you want to explore a new way of music making and step into the unknown without losing your uniqueness? Tanzanian musician, composer and dancer Kasheshi Makena is going to introduce a tool called OMASKI that helps to build your identity and opens new doors to composing, songwriting, rhythm and movement exploration. During the masterclass, you will learn more about Tanzanian traditional dance rhythm(s) and how to individuate it.

The abbreviation “OMASKI” stands for “omission, multiplication, addition, skipping” (O – omit, M – multiply, A – add, SKI – skip). In short, it is a technique for music making to create something new by breaking down, expanding, diminishing and removing beats, rhythms, riffs or melodies of dance rhythms.
Singers, dancers and instrumentalists are welcome to the workshop!

More information and musical examples:

•  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BQ2qaxetHE 
•  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy533pIbXbA (from 1:38 to 2:38)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xlot20n_hA 
•  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzaaBN87z44 (from 1:36)

Maximum number of participants: 25

Time of occurrence: October 3rd
at 10.15-10.25 an introduction to the day of master classes
at 10.30-12.00, 12.30-14.00 and 15.00-16.30

Location: Viljandi Culture Academy main building (Posti 1, Viljandi), room 319

Agnese Rakovska has been a professional singer and songwriter for almost 15 years. She is also owner of Zvaigznājs agency, where her work with new emerging artists led her to think about changing the Latvian music ecosystem through education system. She created Constellation Class aimed at implementing digital technology in every music classroom in Latvia to increase students’ interest, support their creative thinking and change music lessons more practical.

During the masterclass, Agnese will present the Constellation Class project (including working with Latvian government entities) and its digital station in detail. She is also going to talk about methodological approaches for using technology in music education and discuss the importance of introducing the music industry at school level.

Time of occurrence: October 3rd at 11.30-13.00

Location: Viljandi Culture Academy main building (Posti 1, Viljandi), Black Box

Jan Lütjohann is a sculptor and educator who uses pre-industrial tools and methods to contemplate on working with hands in the present and future. His workshop combines free-flowing conversation and activity. Participants learn to use knives, carve wooden sticks collected in the city, and sharpen the knives with stones.

The workshop does not require previous skills and is therefore suitable for beginners, but safety instructions must be followed when using sharp tools.

Maximum number of participants: 10

Time of occurrence: October 3rd at 10.15-14.30

Location: The UT Viljandi Culture Academy Vilma building

Francis Sokomba is the focal point of Bida UNESCO creative city of crafts and folk art. He is a talented artist who has been working on contemporary and traditional Nupe heritage art for almost 25 years, which is also the focus of his workshop. During the masterclass, Sokomba teaches how to make utilitarian crafts of calabash and how to decorate them with different traditional Nupe designs.

Maximum number of participants: 20

Time of occurrence: October 3rd at 10.15-14.30 

Location: The UT Viljandi Culture Academy Vilma building

Songdej Thipthong is a prominent Thai artist who specialises in Buddhist art. He uses various techniques and materials in his work, creating pieces in both traditional and contemporary styles. Thipthong is particularly dedicated to a decorative technique inspired by the Lai Kham stencil technique, which can be learnt in his workshop.

The history of Lai Kham dates back to at least the 13th century. It was primarily used to adorn the interiors of temples to honour deities, Buddha images, or royals. The golden tone symbolises purity, merit, and the Buddhist ideal of achieving enlightenment. The shimmering effect represents the light of wisdom and the spiritual energy central to Buddhist teachings.

Maximum number of participants: 12

Time of occurrence: October 3rd at 10.15-14.30 

Location: The UT Viljandi Culture Academy Vilma building

Witiya Pittungnapoo is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design, at Naresuan University in Thailand. She completed her PhD in town and regional planning from the University of Sheffield in 2009. Over the last decade, she has contributed to build up international research collaboration on flooding adaptation to preserve cultural heritage for achieving resilience and sustainability. Witiya has founded the Climate Change Adaptation for Cultural Heritage Preservation (CCACHP) Research Unit at Naresuan University. She has also been the co-focal point of Sukhothai UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) since October 2019 and has closely worked with crafts villages in Sukhothai to develop crafts based on climate-resilient design. 

The aim of the masterclass is to provide knowledge and share best practices in flood risk management for the preservation of cultural heritage. The workshop consists of 4 parts:

Part 1: How to evaluate the values of cultural heritage?;

Part 2: Participants will work together as a group to set up disaster risk scenario and co-create mitigation strategies based on case study;

Part 3: Developing preparedness and recovery plan;

Part 4: Each group will present their cultural heritage disaster risk management plan.

Maximum number of participants: 30

Time of occurrence: October 3rd at 10.15-14.30 

Location: The UT Viljandi Culture Academy Vilma building