Ugarit Band

The Ugarit Band is an ensemble of the Bridges Kammerorchester and fuses traditional Arabic music, sounds from the Mediterranean region and classical European music. Each member of the ensemble contributes their own musical and cultural background: Arabic and Persian instruments such as the oud, riq and tombak meet the European flute, double bass and a violin, whose spectrum of sound colours is expanded with a variety of playing techniques from traditional and classical Arabic music. The name of the ensemble refers to the city of Ugarit on the Syrian coast, which harbours one of the greatest treasures of musical culture: the first musical notation, dating from around 3.400 BC, engraved on a clay tablet in the royal palace and bearing a striking resemblance to the classical European tonal system.

Walid Khatba is a violinist in the Bridges Kammerorchester and is trained in classical European as well as traditional and classical Arabic music. He has played with internationally renowned ensembles such as the band Gorillaz and as a soloist with the WDR Funkhausorchester and composed the music for the documentary film ‘Exodus’, which tells the story of migrants fleeing across the Aegean Sea. Walid Khatba has been an active member of Bridges - Musik verbindet since 2016 and composes and arranges works for the Bridges Kammerorchester and several ensembles.

Johanna-Leonore Dahlhoff is a flautist, has been artistic director of Bridges - Musik verbindet in Frankfurt since 2016 and founded the Bridges Kammerorchester together with Anke Karen Meyer in 2019. On her concert tours as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician to numerous countries around the world, she is always keen to familiarise herself with the musical traditions of the respective host country. Since 2015, she has also been active as a composer and arranger, including for the Bridges Kammerorchester.

Hadil Mirkan is an oud player and cellist and works as a doctor alongside her various musical projects.

Nicola Pacha Vock is a freelance double bass player, a member of the Bridges Kammerorchester and has been Head of Education and Community at the Bridges Kammerorchester since 2024. She also develops her own projects and works as a teacher in the school project ‘Response - New Music in Schools’ at the HfMDK Frankfurt. Nicola Pacha Vock was Managing Director and part of the artistic management of the Kammerphilharmonie Frankfurt.

Ramin Rahmi is a percussionist and singer, founding member of the Bridges Kammerorchester and member of various Bridges Ensembles. He has been playing tombak and daf since childhood, then studied the Persian long-necked lute Tar and musicology in Tehran and continued his training in Moscow. Ramin Rahmi has performed in Iran, Italy, Germany, Sweden, France and Russia.

Ensemble
Walid Khatba
Violin
Johanna-Leonore Dahlhoff Flute
Hadil Mirkan Oud
Nicola Pacha Vock Double bass
Ramin Rahmi Percussion

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