Harp Column magazine has been bringing you "practical news for practical harpists" since 1993. We now offer instant sheet music downloads through our new online store at harpcolumnmusic.com. 

26 Jahre Alt, aus Syrien, Computers und Automatische Steuerung Ingenieur. Ich liebe Klassische Musik und Lieder!.

At Mozilla, Bram Pitoyo is a design strategist & typographer who works at the nexus of user experience, architecture, community engagement & most other subjects

Experimental, Indian, Classical, Dub, Sound Art.

Jake Charkey is an acclaimed cellist with a strong background in both Western classical music and Hindustani music. 
 
Building from his solid classical and orchestral training, he is an eclectic improviser, drawing from eastern and western musical traditions.
 
He is a sought after studio recording artist in the film, television and music industry in both India and USA.  A disciple of the renowned violinist Padmabhushan Dr. N. Rajam in the rare Gayaki Ang style, Jake is one of the few cellists in the world performing Indian music on the cello.

About
Jake Charkey started playing violin at the age of 6.  After a year of suffering the scratchy cacaphony of beginning violin, his father mercifully gave him a cello to try, and and he took it up like an old friend.
 
After completing his conservatory training at the Shepherd School of Music in Houston, TX and seeking to broaden his musical skills and vocabulary, he took an interest in Hindustani music.  His studies began in Toronto with the sarangi player, Aruna Narayan, who urged him to adapt Hindustani music to cello rather than learn an Indian instrument.  He continued in Los Angeles where he took up intensive training with Jagan Ramamoorthy, a senior disciple of the violin virtuoso Padmabushan Dr. N. Rajam.  He completed his M.F.A. at CalArts in Hindustani music under the guidance of Aashish Khan and Swapan Chaudury.  While at Cal-Arts he also incorporated other modalities of improvisation into his playing with Vinny Golia, Wadada Leo Smith, and Charlie Haden.
 
After grad school Jake moved to Montreal, where continued to perform Hindustani music, both as a soloist and accompanist for Kathak dance and was a occasional collaborator with tUnEyArds.  In 2010 he travelled to India with an arts fellowship from the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute to support formal study under Padmabushan Dr. N. Rajam with whom he continued to learn for the 6 years he stayed there.  
 
In India he recorded and performed with many of the most celebrated musicians in Bollywood.  His unique sound can be heard on season 2 of MTV's Coke Studio, multiple episodes of MTV Unplugged, and in a number of Bollywood soundtracks.  

Since returning to the USA in 2016 Jake has joined the Slipstream Ensemble at Marlboro College, a composer/performer ensemble in residence and performs with Layale Chaker and Sarafand.  He also performs with Adam Rudolph’s GO Organic Orchestra and is a frequent collaborator with the Brooklyn Raga Massive.  He has been an advocate for new music for solo cello which he programs in recital alongside Hindustani music.  He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Considered “one of the iconic harpists of this new age,” ​Eduardo Betancourt​ is a Grammy-award winning Venezuelan musician, producer, arranger, composer, instructor, and multi-instrumentalist with 25 years of experience in traditional and fusion Venezuelan music. 


In 2010, Betancourt won a Latin Grammy Award for his participation on the album ​“​Tesoros de la música Venezolana" by Ilan Chester​, and in 2016, he was nominated on the ​album ​"​Pa' Tío Simón" with Rafael "Pollo" Brito​.​ 


At the 2016 Pepsi Music Awards in Venezuela, Betancourt’s personal album, ​AD LIBITUM​, was nominated three times for “Best Artist,” “Best Song,” and “Best Album.” His many accomplishments include more than 100 recordings, and performances with renowned international artists such as: Simon Diaz, Oscar D León, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Danny Rivera, Luis Salinas, Jorge Celedón, and artists from Venezuela. 


Betancourt founded the duo Luna & Betancourt (piano and harp) with Gabriel Luna, classical pianist and Chairman of the Department of Folk Music of Argentina in the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires. 


As a guest instructor at Berklee College of Music in 2018, he offered a Master Class of Harp and Venezuelan music entitled​ "​Eduardo Betancourt: Venezuelan Harp, from Traditional to Contemporary​"​ through the Latin Minor Studies program led by Professor Oscar Stagnaro. Currently, Betancourt collaborates with the Venezuelan Project, a Latin Jazz group who have performed at the House of Blues and on National Public Radio (NPR), and solo under the name EduardoProject, giving workshops and teaching master classes throughout the world.


His courses can also be found online at ​Harp School​. 


Betancourt plays on Electric ​Llanera and Camac EC harps (their design and construction he helped guide for the French harp company, ​Les Harpes Camac​).​ With his instruments, he explores and applies new sonorities to traditional Venezuelan music, giving his work a refreshing contemporary sound.


“Eduardo Betancourt is undoubtedly a leader in his field... With his acoustic harp, he brings together traditional Venezuelan musical styles. With his electric harp, he expands the horizons of his instrument, carving out new identities for it in the twenty-first century.”
-Jakez François, President, Les Harpes Camac

With a penchant for improvisation and unexpected meters, StringQuake boasts a wide-ranging repertoire that runs the gamut from contemplative to vigorous.
Using exiting instrumentation–electric harp, cello, and percussion–StringQuake explores far-flung sounds inspired by Greece, India, Africa, and the Americas. With roots in San Francisco and the East Bay, the trio has toured Mexico and performed extensively in the Bay Area, releasing their first album, “Take 15,” in 2013 and "Cascade," December 2016.

SOund journeys,and information for the soul.

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