SONGS OF GREECE AND ASIA MINOR
MARCH 7 to 11, 2026
THESSALONIKI – GREECE
OBJECTIVE
This master class offers training in Greek singing and the modal systems of urban and rural music traditions from Greece and Asia Minor. It will cover specific improvisation techniques used in these musical traditions, the learning of songs, ornamentation work, arrangement, and the historical and sociocultural context of the style.
ERASMUS+ ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To participate in this training and benefit from the ERASMUS+ program, you must meet one of the following criteria: be registered as a job seeker, be recognized as a person with a disability, or receive minimum social benefits. Each case is reviewed individually, and specific profiles are taken into account based on the program’s criteria. For more information, please contact us at contact@iimm.fr
GENERAL CONTENT
Led by Maria Simoglou
The training includes vocal technique work such as relaxation, breathing and breath control, vocal warm-ups, and voice placement. It also involves learning songs from Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, and Asia Minor, both unison and polyphonic singing, with a focus on drone singing.
The course will explore interpretation, ornamentation, rhythms, and improvisation techniques.
Rhythm work for singing and dancing is approached through listening with the body, the ear, and the voice.
Theoretical aspects include the study of maqams and modal analysis.
PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
Participants should have solid vocal or instrumental practice. No theoretical knowledge is required. The course is open to both amateurs and professionals.
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BIOGRAPHY
MARIA SIMOGLOU
A polymorphous singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter, Maria Simoglou has been active on the international music and theatre scene for over 20 years.
Born in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, she was fortunate to grow up with a double musical culture, both learned and popular. Her musical roots are steeped in traditional music from Macedonia, Thrace, and Asia Minor, while her academic journey led her through the Music High School of Thessaloniki, the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki (where she studied oboe, oud, qanun, and percussion), and the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, in the vocal/theatre department under Marion Lukowsky and Prof. Magdalena Hajossyova. She also took part in vocal workshops with Prof. Barbara Schlick, Prof. Norma Sharp, Thomas Quasthoff, René Jacobs, Spyros Sakkas, among others.
From an early stage, she collaborated with numerous ensembles and orchestras in Greece and abroad, working across traditional, classical, and contemporary music. She is regularly invited to perform in concerts, festivals, and music seminars, including those focusing on film and theatre music.
Her appearances include the Festival d’Avignon, Babel Med Music, Villa Méditerranée, Forum Barcelona, Schwarz-Weiss Festival, Bayer Kultur, Berliner Märchentage, Deutsche Welle Konzerte, Montalbane (International Days of Medieval Music), Alte Musik Treff, Rebecca Horn’s Moon Mirror installation, DIMITRIA Ethno-Jazz Festival, Cité de la Musique Marseille, Mandopolis Festival, Les Suds à Arles, Vélo Théâtre, Abbaye de Sylvanès, Centre Pompidou, among many others.
She has also participated in numerous radio and TV broadcasts in Greece, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, France, the USA, Australia, and more.
Maria has shared the stage and recordings with many renowned international artists, including Ross Daly, Spyros Sakkas, Stelios Petrakis, Efren Lopez, Maria Thoidou, Socratis Malamas, Bijan Chemirani, Patrick Vaillant, and Kevin Seddiki.
Since 2011, she has worked with the theatre company “Mises en Scène” on two productions: Bon Appétit and La parabole des papillons (directed by Michèle Addala, dramaturgy by Gilles Robic).
She has been living in Marseille, France, since 2008, where she leads and performs with various ensembles. She collaborates as a singer, musician, and actress in traditional and contemporary music, dance, and theatre productions.
Since 2008, she has regularly taught masterclasses (DROM, IIMM, FAMDT), focusing on vocal and body techniques, interpretation, ornamentation, rhythm, and improvisation specific to Greek and Asia Minor singing traditions.
Discography
Kymata – Kevin Seddiki, Maria Simoglou, Iacob Maciuca – Buda Musique, 2018
Red – Savvas Pavlidis – Self-produced, 2018
Minóre Manés – Maria Simoglou Ensemble – Buda Musique, 2015
Panselinos – Kompania Massalias – Panselinos / Hiphaistia, 2013
Il santiero – Kevin Seddiki – Wildner Records, 2012
Tâle Yâd – OnEira 6tet – Helico, 2012
Si la Mar – OnEira 6tet – Helico, 2010
Orion – Stelios Petrakis – Seistron, 2008
Kara Deniz: Two Steps – Savvas Pavlidis – DMG Germany, 2007
Tis nychtas ta makria mallia – Maria Thoidou, Sokratis Malamas – Lyra, 2004
Kismet – Stelios Petrakis, Bijan Chemirani – Buda Musique, 2004
Enas emfilios – To periodiko, Vol. 2 – Dimosioypaliliko se retire – Alli Poli, 2003
Chants et danses de la Méditerranée – Tropos Quartett Berlin–Thessaloniki – Tropos Quartett, 2003