Monthly Ney
(Reed Flute) Workshops
Beshno
az ney ... listen to the ney as it complains of separation of man and
woman from the reedbed ..... Rumi
Every 1st Sunday of the month at 12-2 pm Next dates are: 3 Jun, 1 Jul, 5 Aug, 2 Sep, 7 Oct, 4 Nov, 2 Dec 2007
Venue:
St Marks Church, Myddleton Square, London, EC1R 1XX, in Angel
£ 15 (£10conc) per class,
booking required - Neys are available for sale. Email: info@caravansary.org Tel: 0794 448
9527.
Classes are taught by Master
Ney Player/Teacher Munise Unver
Listen Muniser playing the Ney
The ney, one of the oldest types of flute, is found across the
Middle East
, but is traditionally a male
instrument. Unver explains: "They told me that it was a difficult
instrument for women to play because their chests weren't big enough, but
I said 'Well, I want to play it!'". Unver was already hooked on
performance and music from her first recording for Ankara Radio at the
age of seven, and so attended the Ankara State Conservatoire studying
piano, she studied classical Turkish and Mevlevi music under private
tuition.
"When
I perform I love it! I feel that I'm not old, but I'm young and
flying!" says the defiantly sprightly ney player and teacher Munise
Unver. Sixty-three years old and extremely proud of it, Unver was brought
up in
Ankara
and
Istanbul
in a musical family. "My
father was a musician, and musicians were always coming and practising in
our house."
Unver came to the
UK
in 1968 because two of her English students decided that they wanted to
continue their classes in the
UK
, and asked Unver what they
should do. "We have an expression, 'Whether you stay here, or
whether you take me there it makes no difference, but I was joking, and
they took me seriously!" Planning only to stay six months, and then
only a year, Unver married and has lived in
London
ever since.
Although she has mostly concentrated on teaching "because I
don't want to take what I know with me" Unver hs also performed with
a number of bands, and currently plays with the Nihavend Ensemble.
Laughing about the youth of the rest of the group she comments "I am
easily the oldest - I can go to the
British
Museum
you know!" Ultimately, Unver cannot imagine giving up music because
"I think music gives you life - it' s as important as water."
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