18th - 23rd August 2026
In this seminar Mayu Shviro leads participants through the sound, techniques and ornaments typical of modal music traditions. Working on bowed instruments such as cello, violin or viola (but also others like kemençe or kamanche, for those familiar), the class focuses on learning repertoire from different modal traditions, group playing, and improvisation in a modal context. The goal is to open up new sound worlds and ways of musical interaction beyond the classical-Western framework.
Student requirements
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Instrumental technique: intermediate
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Western theory: any level
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Modal music theory: any level
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Sight reading: basic
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Transposition: any level
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Learning by ear: intermediate
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Composition: any level
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Improvisation: any level
Born in Jerusalem to Japanese and Iraqi parents, Mayu began studying classical cello at the age of six. At eighteen she discovered the world of modal music, a turning point that led her to explore the Arabic, Turkish, and Azeri traditions through the voice of her instrument. Drawn to the depth and beauty of these musical worlds, she dedicated herself to studying with masters such as Evgenios Voulgaris in Greece and Elshan Mansurov in Azerbaijan.
Mayu has performed and recorded across a wide range of styles, collaborating with artists including Piris Eliyahu, Shai Maestro, Ofer Mizrahi, Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood, Arkho, Itamar Doari, Ross Daly, Kelly Thoma, Yonathan Avishai, and Avishai Cohen. She has also appeared as a soloist with the East and West Orchestra.
Her first album, The Old Man and the Sea (2024), pairs her music with her own hand-crafted animation, inviting listeners into a parallel universe inspired by Hemingway’s novel.
Today, Mayu continues to create her own musical language shaped by the traditions and people she has encountered along the way, blending jazz, modal music from Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the Arab world, and the natural soundscapes that inspire her.
