Musikarama

Highlights of 2018

11/01/2019 Musikarama Musikarama No comments

It’s not easy to sum up a whole year in only 10 photos (plus music from our band!) and some paragraphs , but this will give you a glimpse of what we’ve done throughout 2018. We’re proud to say that, despite challenges and difficulties, Musikarama is more alive than ever!!

To begin with our educational side, up until the summer break we had our weekly music sessions with lovely kids from a wide range of backgrounds. From July on we have organised weekly guitar lessons in one of the camps. In addition, we have also organized some music workshops together with other organisations or amazing volunteers…

As for our band, we have had over twenty performances in different places around Athens, as well as we were invited to play in festivals in Tinos and Leros islands. However, more important than that is the sense of family we have managed to build ourselves, helping one another and of course always trying to serve as a positive reference for the whole community.

We thank again everyone for making our project possible, from friends and other volunteers, partner organisations and collaborators, and of course all the amazing people we’re meeting along the way. We’re open to new ideas and collaborations, and, being a totally volunteer and independemt project, we would also appreciate your support (click on ‘Donate’ or send your spare coins to Musikarama’s account: ES81 1491 0001 2230 0008 8900).

We’ll keep working hard in 2019 to spread our positive energy to more people, and to achieve new beautiful goals (album, concerts/tours, new music activities,etc.), and we wish everyone a year full of freedom, dignity and music!!

Musikarama’s choir workshop at Khora

12/02/2018 Musikarama Musikarama No comments

Last week our singing teacher, Lydia Theochari, in collaboration with Becka Wolfe, organised and animated a Choir Workshop at Khora. The workshop lasted for a week, one session a day. It took place within the Workshops’ week which was organised by Khora -and open to everyone- from the 5th to the 9th of february. The purpose was to make the participants connect with themselves and others through their voices and sounds.
Our workshop consisted in breathing and stretching exercises, as well as in singing together “simple” songs (from Greece to Norway!), using different singing techniques. The workshop was a success, and as it reached its end, one of the participants told us that, even if we were to organize it on the moon, he would come again!. Musikarama is therefore proud to announce that it will organize the first moon-based choir workshop ever by 2030!
Below, you can see a video and some pictures of the closing session of the workshop!

Musikarama’s rehearsal at Jafra Foundation

08/02/2018 Musikarama Musikarama No comments

In the last couple of weeks, three of the members of our band left -from one day to the other- to different European countries. We are very happy for them to continue their journey, and truly hope this will bring them closer to happiness 🙂 . Nevertheless the band keeps working to overcome these challenges, and here are some pictures of our last rehearsal, this time at مؤسسة جفرا في اليونان/Jafra foundation in Greece (soon more news on this new collaboration!).

Musikarama’s first music lessons

20/01/2018 Musikarama Musikarama No comments

We have started our singing lessons at Khora! It was quite fun yesterday, and everyone in the room, both kids and adults had a really good time playing and making music together. Can’t wait for the next one! Thanks Maria Kap!!

Musikarama’s Trip: 1st part

21/12/2017 Musikarama MADRID - ATHENS' TRIP No comments

We started off our trip in Madrid, where a big group of good friends joined together to say goodbye and wish us well for the trip. Just before our departure, an improvised -and fun- concert let us know that the music would be present along our way. We cannot think of a better way to start the trip…

Some hours later we arrived in Barcelone and, totally without expecting it, the music showed up again. Two guitars, a cajon and our voices made us join together for hours with a group of international friends (Palestine, Switzerland, Ireland, Mexico, Greece) to spend quite a special night together. Apart from the love and support they showed us when we shared our project with them, a few people also wished they could join us on our way to Greece.

When we were about to hit the road again, a mechanical problem with the van forced us to stop. It made us learn some mechanics while also discovering quite a few garages in Barcelona. Luckily enough, and after hours of search, we found a garage which repaired the van, allowing us to carry on with our trip. It is even in situations like this one when we have felt the support of people who, despite being total strangers, were touched when we share with them the purpose of our trip.

Finally, having overcome the first difficulties and full of beautiful memories, moments and people that we will never forget, we crossed the Pyrenees to get to France. There we enjoyed some family reunions where the music appeared again. This time through the keys of an old French piano and a beautiful Spanish guitar.

We continue our journey from Montpellier to Nice, where we find out that any place is good for music. This time, in a driving school where, again, we fond again a piano and our already well-known guitar improvising together nice blues melodies. This driving school teacher – and amateur pianist – not only left us amazed with his piano skills but also donated us a djembe which joined the rest of Musikarama’s nomadic orchestra.

On the next day we left Nice to hit the road again for the longest stage of our journey, driving across Italy to reach Ljubljana, Slovenia, in a single day, completing half of our journey. Already in the Balkan lands, after a long and exhausting journey and despite the fatigue and some setbacks, the encouragement and support of everybody gave us strength to continue and carry out our mission. Bringing joy and music to the people who need it…

Musikarama’s arrival to Athens

10/11/2017 Musikarama MADRID - ATHENS' TRIP No comments

Here a vídeo of our first moments in Athens, after ten days travelling, crossing eight borders and more than 4.000 kilometres.We were tired but full of strenght and motivated to start with our project in Khora.

Everything’s ready to kick off with the activities!.

Musikarama hits the road!

05/11/2017 Musikarama MADRID - ATHENS' TRIP No comments

This is the video of the moments before our departure from Madrid, until the very last minute we were surrounded by lots of good friends and music. These fun and beautiful last minutes made us leave Madrid with the biggest smiles in our faces, happy and excited to start off our trip to Athens…

Compartimos el vídeo de nuestra despedida en Madrid. Muchas gracias por esta bonita sorpresa Marina Betete! Mañana salimos desde Tirana, Albania, para llegar a Grecia! 🙂 Check out this nice video of our departure. Many thanks to Marina Betete for this beautiful surprise! Tomorrow we will head off from Tirana, Albania, to Greece! 🙂
Publicado por Musikarama en Domingo, 5 de noviembre de 2017

Interview on RNE, 24-10-17

02/11/2017 Musikarama Musikarama No comments

Here you can listen to the interview we had on the program of music and science ‘Longitud de Onda’, on Radio Clásica RNE (Spain’s National Radio), on October 24th, 2017.

Moira Smiley – Refugee

15/10/2017 Musikarama PARTNERS No comments

We are delighted to share this beautiful and touching song by Moira Smiley, an American artist actively involved in the refugee community. This song came from her experiences while volunteering at Calais Jungle refugee camp in France in 2016, as well as from her experience volunteering at a refugee camp in Athens, Greece . It is actually through an Afghan singer living in that camp how we met Moira.
Thanks for your work, Moira!.