Location

Athens, Greece

Specialisms

adults and children, 65+, multicultural

Additional information

Hello! Γεια σας!!

My name is Elsa and I am a choir leader, based in Athens, Greece.

My passion is to enable human beings to come together in song, creating a playful and supportive atmosphere for EVERYONE (whatever their music training, personal history, age, race or gender) to feel safe to express themselves through­ their unique voice.

Ι first came across Natural Voice community choirs while studying in Ethnomusicology in London, in 2010. I immediately felt at home, realized the deep social and therapeutic impact that singing can have in people’s lives and saw the need for creating and facilitating spaces for people to meet in this way. After returning to Greece in 2013, it has been my mission to transmit the same spirit here in my homeland and beyond.

I wholeheartedly embrace the NVN moto that singing is our birthright and not a privilege of a small group of experts. Singing is an extremely healthy activity that everyone needs to have access to!

I like to use repertoire form different traditions and parts of the world. I am more well versed in Eastern and Mediterranean musical traditions; however I never cease to learn, explore and pass on all music that speaks to my heart!

I am also a member of a community brass band here in Athens that plays Balkan tunes as well as tunes from northern Greece, and I like to teach songs from this region to my choirs too. I believe that it is important to pay special attention and honor the cultures that songs derive from, as well as bring awareness to issues of cultural appropriation and racism, aligned with the NVN spirit.

I love working with children and have quite a lot of experience in this field. For seven years I co-led a multicultural children’s choir in Athens called Polyphonica. With a group of gifted collaborators, we set up a choir, free of charge, that included children coming from many different countries, mostly from first generation immigrant backgrounds. This choir evolved into a large family of 50+ members, ranging in an age group from 8 – 18 years old. For these last two years I have also been working in early childhood music education.

Apart from being a musician, I am also a trained psychologist (now completing a master training in Body Psychotherapy) and a storyteller, where I have a small group that performs stories accompanied by music in small intimate venues.

Covid stopped me from being active as a choir leader for 2 years, but I have been back in the game since October 2021, with a wonderful group of adult singers, under the mysterious name ‘Mamaeee Salon Choir’.