Bereket

Bereket Middle Eastern Ensemble is comprised of university students, faculty, staff and community members. “Bereket” is a word with cognates in Turkish, Arabic and Persian that translates as “abundance,” “fruitfulness,” and “divine gift.” Over half of our members are from the Middle East, and all are interested in learning about the culture, history, religions and languages from these areas. Our repertoire includes music from the Middle East, Armenia and North Africa. Each semester focuses on a particular era, area and/or topic. This ensemble is offered as a class that is open to the general public as well as to UT students, supported by the Butler School of Music and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Our Spring 2025 concert is organized around the themes of wedding ritual music and foci on Romani (“Gypsy”) musical traditions from Hungary, Southeastern Europe and Turkiye. Romani communities provide essential cultural services, valuable craftsmanship as well as deep intellectual traditions everywhere that they live, despite centuries of discrimination and violence. This concert honors their rich traditions by presenting artistry and direction from Feherlo Gortva Scheible and Rumen “Sali” Shopov. We thank these artists as well as Hanna Salmon for her dedicated work preserving, teaching and arranging Palestinian music. We thank the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Center for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, and the Bulter School of Music O’Donnell grant for sponsoring these activities. 

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Rumen “Sali” Shopov

Rumen “Sali” Shopov is a master Turkish-Romani multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, bandleader, music teacher, composer/arranger, dancer, and drum-maker born and raised in the mahala (Romani (“Gypsy” neighborhood) of Gotse Delchev, Southwestern Bulgaria. In addition to the vibrant musical life of the mahala’s Romani community, his birthplace hosts a rich intersection of Bulgarian, Macedonian, Greek, Jewish, and Turkish musical influences. Rumen learned a vast and diverse repertoire in the local oral tradition from his Romani family and neighbors. Since emigrating to the USA, Rumen has toured and taught throughout the United States, Canada, and Latin America with countless ensembles comprised of both Balkan and American musicians. Among his many collaborators are the Yuri Yunakov Ensemble, Balkan Stars, Romani Routes, Bulgarika, Esma Redzepova, Dzambo Angushevi, Ismail Lumanovski, Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello), Varimezovi Family Band, Edessa, Kitka, Anoush, Ziyia, Slavej, Shuvani, Yuri Yunakov Ensemble, Ala Turca, and many others. He is also currently the musical curator for BalkanFest (San Diego), Tupan Bie Festival (Phoenix) and Voice of Roma’s Herdeljezi Festival (Berkeley).

Shira Cion

Shira Cion is the Executive and Artistic Director of Kitka (kitka.org), an internationally renowned women's vocal ensemble and teaching institute dedicated to cultivating community through the power of polyphonic singing. Rooted in the rich traditions of Eastern European and Eurasian vocal music, Kitka presents folk song as a dynamic and evolving art form. Under Shira’s leadership, the ensemble has engaged in countless groundbreaking collaborations with esteemed artists ranging from Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares to Meredith Monk. Since its grassroots founding in 1979, Kitka has grown into an award-winning professional touring ensemble, celebrated for its exquisite and unusual repertoire and adventurous artistic vision. Shira has spearheaded numerous multicultural and multidisciplinary collaborations, and directed performance, study and cultural exchange projects in Bulgaria, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland, and Russia as well as within Jewish and Romani communities across North America.
 

Fehéló Gortva Scheibel

Biography coming soon...
 

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Plucked Strings 
Hamidreza Fallahi, setar
Hanna Salmon, oud, voice
Dimitris Gkoulimaris, oud
Golriz Shayani, oud
Philippe Danielides, bouzouki
Erik Salinas, oud
Max Geller, tar

Shovqat Aliquieva, kanun

Nader Yousef, kanun, voice

Bowed Strings
Fehérló Gortva Scheibel, violin, doromb
Annika Mulkay, viola
Oscar Garcia, viola
John Gough, cello
Diego Salinas, cello

Winds
Michael Kerbeykian-Mikulka, duduk
Daniel Naves, flute, ney

Sonia Tamar Seeman, G clarinet

Stephen Savage, Bb clarinet
 

Percussion

Ahmed Ahmadian, def
Fataneh Fasihnia, def
Mana Pouresmaeil, Tombak, def
Rose Babak, def
Tiffany Bautista, def
Lila Al-Kassem, def
Azza Hararah, def
Kim Pockard, def
Maria Schneider, def
Evrim Solmaz, def, voice
Sewar Almasalha, def
William Flores, darbuka
Fernanda Merlet, darbuka
 

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