She’Koyokh

This award-winning klezmer band, with guest singer Elise Murphy on vocals, has been described as “One of the finest and most entertaining British-based exponents of global music” (The Guardian).

Often touring the world, with highlights that have included the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and festivals in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Cyprus, Spain, the Canary Islands and Norway; WOMAD, Sziget and Pannonica Festivals; Fundación Juan March Madrid, London’s Southbank Centre, Aldeburgh’s Snape Proms and live sessions on BBC Radio, we are fortunate that She’Koyokh are able to come to Shropshire to perform at our final concert at Concord College.

Four globally acclaimed albums have earned She’Koyokh  (which means ‘Nice One’) their reputation as “one of London’s musical treasures playing the best klezmer and Balkan music in Britain” (The Evening Standard).

Elise Murphy is a singer, song-writer and violinist, and was awarded as a Help Musicians Supported Artist in 2023 with her solo project The Glowe. After studying music at Edinburgh University, she spent several years living and working in Bosnia-Hercegovina, studying with Bosnian folk singer Teo Krilic, as well as performing with LSO, Bosnian and International musicians at the Pavarotti Music Centre, Mostar.
Elise performs regularly with Balkan band The Rubber Duck Orchestra, which has featured at WOMAD, Boomtown, Kendal Calling and TedX Manchester at the Bridgewater Hall. She performed Sevdah (Bosnian Folk music) at The Piano Drome at Edinburgh Festival 2022, supported Balkan Beat Box at Band on the Wall, Manchester, a national tour with Mostar’s star Teo Krilic, and supported rock band New Order on their Scottish tour with a TV broadcast on Sunday Brunch. She has performed several sold-out gigs in Manchester Jazz Festival and Manchester International Festival, including with her band The Glowe, Sacred Sounds, Mali Superstars Amadou and Mariam and with Manchester Chamber Choir premiering William Orbit’s new work for BBC Radio 3.
She is the Founder and Creative Director of award-winning organisation Music Action International, who design and deliver life-changing music programmes with survivors of war, torture and persecution.

Christina Borgenstierna was initially drawn towards Eastern European music during her degree at Goldsmiths University (BMus in Composition and Studio Composition, 2002), later taking up studies in Bulgarian percussion at the Plovdiv Music Academy with Mitko Popov, of the world-famous Trakia Ensemble. Exploring the realms of Middle Eastern percussion with a range of talented musicians, Christina now incorporates frame drums, riqq and darabuka into her percussion palette. She is a committed member of Veda Slovena Bulgarian Choir since its formation in 2013, having performed at the Purcell room amongst other venues, and as part of collaborative projects such as Voices Now and Choir of the Year 2015. Amongst her many talents, Christina composes, records and produces her own songs and also plays the flute.

Guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, Matt Bacon has been a working musician since the age of twenty, playing practically all jazz and pop styles and performing all over the UK and Europe. Since completing a music degree at Goldsmiths University where he focussed on composition and arrangement, Matt turned to acoustic music and joined She’Koyokh in 2002. He has travelled extensively in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey and India researching the variety of musical cultures.

Millennium Award winning, classically trained violinist and violist, Meg-Rosaleen Hamilton has played with She’Koyokh since meeting the band at Klezfest in 2002. She has studied Lautareasca music with Romanian and Moldovan Gypsies, traditional Bulgarian music and the Gadulka in Gabrovo, and Ottoman Art Music in Istanbul. As a violist, she co-founded and plays Mediterranean, tango and other world and classical music with the Kosmos Ensemble. She played the fiddler’s music for the Fiddler On The Roof production that was chosen for a West End run. She has performed and recorded Yiddish songs, Jewish pop, Greek and Turkish songs, Arabic vocal music, Romanian folk and Gypsy music, and Turkish Tango. Amongst her many accomplishments, Meg-Rosaleen has also performed with La Tipica Contemporary Flamenco Company, and played Greek, Armenian, Kurdish, Alevi and Persian traditional music in various groups including the Nihavent Classical Turkish Ensemble. Meg’s fiddle is like her second passport.

Paul Moylan is a double bass virtuoso most commonly found trying not to play too many notes while trying to provide subtle but firm underpinning to many different styles of music. He has performed on the Klezmer/Balkan circuit since 2000, including playing with Szapora, Gregori Schechter’s Wondering Few and Monooka’s Caravan. He was an irregular member of She’Koyokh for many years, finally joining the band in 2015. Paul also performs jazz and musicals across London, the UK, Europe and further afield. Paul is also a composer and arranger in many styles of music and is proud to be an educator teaching young and old musicians.

Živorad Nikolić studied accordion in Kragujevac, Serbia before coming to London and graduating at the Royal Academy of Music in 2009. Being from Serbia, the Balkan traditional music has always been present in his life: in Serbia if you play accordion and you can’t play a traditional piece of music “they don’t take you seriously”. His recent musical experiences have included performing in Prophet & Loss Community Opera written by Julian Grant as well as live performance for the BBC Radio 2 programme Friday Night Is Music Night. He is a member of Fugata Quintet, Accordduo and Paprika with whom Živorad has toured extensively across Europe, Australia and New Zealand, performing regularly at the WOMAD Festivals in UK, Spain, Canary Islands, Abu Dhabi and WOMADelaide.

John Macnaughton replaces regular clarinettist Susi Evans in this performance. John specialises in folk and world music. Over his career he has played with many leading ensembles and musicians in a variety of traditions. His current projects include Loshn Klezmer Band and the award-winning klezmer ensemble, Oysland (World Music Network, Battle of the Bands, 2017). John also plays traditional Bulgarian and Macedonian music on saxophone with Raka Balkan Band.

He teaches the National Klezmer Youth Orkester with Ilana Cravitz, and directed the SOAS klezmer band from 2015-2019.