Originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina, the singer and actress Nataša Mirković first studied musicology in Sarajevo, followed by classical voice, Lied, and Oratorio in Graz, Austria.
She has been living in Vienna for many years and enjoys a varied solo career with engagements ranging from the Graz Opera to the Volksoper in Vienna, where she has appeared in many theater, opera, and other musical productions. Nataša is interested in classical song, Baroque music and traditional folk music. Through her numerous performances at prestigious theaters and international festivals, she has become a sought-after artist throughout Europe. In 2010, Ms. Mirković collaborated with Matthias Loibner to record Franz Schubert‘s Winterreise on the hurdy-gurdy, a CD project which earned much praise from the press and public and was awarded the O1 Pasticcio prize.
Ms. Mirković‘s great versatility, demonstrated in a variety of genres, has also been recognized in Hollywood by the composer Gabriel Yared, who invited her to sing the theme song to the film In the Country of Blood and Honey, which marked Angelina Jolie‘s debut as a film director and to contribute her musical talent to the Terry George film The Promise. More recently, she was invited to the Vienna Burgtheater by the multimedia artist Andre Heller, to take part in a manifesto against xenophobia with other musicians, authors and actors (Realize the invisible line, that connects everyone with everything).
Her love of folklore has repeatedly taken the singer back to her roots, to the music traditions of the Balkans. It is with this in mind that her latest project, En El Amor, came into being. In addition to her busy concert schedule, Nataša Mirković has been giving lessons around the world for the past 15 years, teaching her own method of universal voice leading and passing her knowledge and experience on to professional singers, vocal coaches and other music enthusiasts.
Born near Belfort (France) in 1960, Michel Godard soon established himself as an extraordinarily versatile exponent of the tuba, pursuing a career in jazz and classical music.Today he is one of the most virtuous tuba and serpent players in Jazz as well as in improvised music.
Mr. Godard's tuba performance is fantastic in every sense: his technical skill is astounding, his tone clear and warm, his ability to produce overtones ("multiphonics") and his musicality leaves the listener surprised at how light a seemingly cumbersome and heavy-weight tuba can sound.
In 1979 he picked up also the ancestor of the tuba, the Serpent, an instrument with a Latin name derived from its form - resembling that of a coiled snake. The serpent's wooden mouthpiece gives it a characteristic warm and intense tone. With this "second" instrument, Mr. Godard has taken yet another step in broadening the field of expression in ancient music as well as in Jazz. Since 2002 Mr. Godard has been the serpent teacher at the Conservatoire National de Musique in Paris.
On the classical side, Mr. Godard has performed since 1988 with the Radio-France Philharmonic Orchestra, the French National Orchestra, the Ensemble Musique Vivante, the ancient music Ensemble La Venice, and XVIII-21Musique de Lumieres. He was also a member of the Arban Chamber Brass quintet (notably touring Japan, the U.S., Africa) and interprets works from the solo repertory, too. Little wonder that, with recourse to such a wealth of experience, he gives international master classes, and has been discovered by European jazz as well as by the avant garde music scene. On the jazz side he was a member of the French Orchestre National de Jazz from 1989 to 1991 . Since then all over Western and Southern Europe Mr. Godard has been involved in numerous creative projects with Michel Portal, Louis Sclavis, Henry Texier, Enrico Rava, Michael Riessler, Kenny Wheeler, Ray Anderson, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Sylvie Courvoisier, Klaus König, Simon Nabatov, Wolfgang Puschnig, Linda Sharrock, Pierre Favre, Misha Mengelberg, Linda Bsiri, Gianluigi Trovesi, Christof Lauer, Maria Pia De Vito, Pino Minafra, Luciano Biondini,Willem Breuker, Herbert Joos, Dave Bargeron, and many more.
As a composer, Mr. Godard was commissioned by Radio France (“Penthés(il)ée II”), Donaueschinger Musiktage/Südwestrundfunk (“de mémoire de tuba”, “Tra la folla, mora, mormora” , “Praeludium”), French Ministere de la Culture (“Bradamente aux aguets”, “les enfants d’un paradis”).
He record many cd wit his own projects:: Archangelica, ImpertinAnce, Cousins Germains for CAMjazz, Castel del Monte , Tubatuba for Enja Records, Deep, Trio Rouge for Intuition, Monteverdi A trace of Grace, Concert des Parfums for Carpe Diem, Doux Désirs for Dodicilune in duo with Ihab Radwan………….…….
Mr. Godard also played and recorded with the pipeband of the Normandy town Quimper, with reggae star Alpha Blondy and with "Canterbury" rock musicians John Greaves and Pip Pyle. He is collaborating with writer Nancy Huston (Tendres ténèbres, pérégrinations Goldberg, Tentatives de renaissance).
Born and raised in rural Iowa, USA, he graduated with honours from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was exposed to a variety of drumming and percussion styles from around the world. He has traveled to several countries to research and document percussion and musical genres, with specific interest in South India, Turkey, Syria, Morocco, Ghana, and Mali. From 2010 - 2014 he was a professor of percussion at the State Conservatory of Music in Istanbul, Turkey, and from 2005-2010 a resident instructor at the Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt. He is an artistic designer for Turkish Cymbals (Istanbul) and Eckermann Drums (Vienna), where he has collaborated to develop a unique line of hand crafted instruments. His performance and recording credits are extensive, notably including Rabih Abou-Khalil, Sezen Aksu, Mehmet Emin Bitmez, Kudsi Erguner, Ensemble Modern, Michel Godard, Natasa Mirkovic, Nenad Vasilic, Bojan Z, Dusko Goykovic, Derya Türkan, Erkan Oğur, Ricardo Ribeiro, Fahir Atakoğlu, Os Musicos do Tejo, Luciano Biondini, Gavino Murgia, Joachim Kühn, The BBC Orchestra, The Macedonian Philharmonic, Tekfen Orchestra, & The Metropolitania Orchestra of Lisbon. Presently he resides in Spain and additionally conducts clinics and workshops for drumming and rhythm training throughout Europe.