Four musicians will meet in October this year, playing music that draws on each person’s musical
strengths and background.

Ahmed Muhktar is an oud player from Iraq who plays both traditional Arabic music and his own compositions.
Sonia Hammond plays cello, solo and orchestral, classical and non. An accomplished improviser, she moves seamlessly through different genres.
Charlie Beresford is an improvising guitarist and vocalist, comfortable with jazz or free improvisation.
Camilla Cancantata is a composer and improviser playing piano, trombone and voice.

They will be giving two public concerts: Leominster Community Centre, Tue Oct 9 th , and Gwernyfed Drama Studio, Gwernyfed High School, near Hay, Wed Oct 10th . The concerts will feature Ahmed’s own compositions and improvisations, the other instrumentalists’ responses, and different groupings of musicians playing, culminating with all four improvising freely. There will also be a workshop, open to all, before the concert in Leominster. No instrument or musical experience required. In the workshops the musicians will demonstrate different improvising techniques and encourage participants to explore new rhythms, tonalities and sound worlds. The concerts will explore the interaction between the players when they are all listening to and responding to each other, venturing into new musical territory and pushing out of their comfort zones – which will mean something different for each musician. Music from very different cultures is not necessarily a universal language, but through improvisation we can find a common thread linking the varied cultural traditions and musical
techniques of the world, creating a unique musical meeting place. ‘One’s cultural reality, the world in which you are born, is just one model of reality. Other cultures outside your own are simply different ways of being and of thinking’. (Wade Davis, ethnobotanist, ‘The Serpent and the Rainbow’).

We invite you to share a fascinating musical journey exploring new worlds of sound.​

Leominster Community Centre, Tue Oct 9th
Gwernyfed Drama Studio, Gwernyfed High School, near Hay, Wed Oct 10th