New Sounds for 2021

Biographies

Cristina Ioan

Romanian flutist, Cristina Ioan is actively involved in projects for dissemination of new works for flute, working closely with different composers, having premiered various works for flute dedicated to her. The latest participation was in the Electro Fest 2020, a festival of electronic music presented by the Music Program in collaboration with the Arts Center at NYUAD where she presented 2 world premiere pieces by Cristóbal MárYan and Carlos Guedes.

In her activity as an instrumentalist she took part in many concerts as a soloist and as a member of orchestras and chamber groups in Romania, France, Portugal and United Arab Emirates, with some of her recitals been transmitted by public radio stations.She also took part in different projects involving music for film and dance, such as Jinn (choreographic work by Carlos Guedes, Nella Turkki, Kirk Woolford and Saguenail) and La revoyure and Mau dia (films by Saguenail).

Cristina is a doctoral student at the University of Aveiro advised by prof. Jorge Salgado Correia, having completed her master’s degree at the same institution in 2007. She presented her work as a researcher and performer in Music Conferences; her latest participation being at the Conference for artistic research “Hands on Flute” in Portugal, July 2018.

She graduated from the National Music University in Bucharest with a degree in Music Interpretation and Pedagogy, having as a mentor and teacher the Romanian flutist Virgil Francu. She complemented her musical studies with flute masterclasses and private classes taught by Robert Dick, Vicens Prats, Jorge Caryevschi, István Matuz, Ion Bogdan Stefanescu Michel Bellavance, Heidi Indermuehle and Demetrius Popp.

She was awarded with various scholarships and programs such as “Meritus Scholar” during her student years in Bucharest, “Erasmus Student” (2004) and Doctoral Scholarship from Fundação para a Ciencia e Tecnología (Portugal, 2009).
Cristina Ioan is Adjunct Instructor in flute at New York University Abu Dhabi (UAE) since 2015.

Cristina Ioan started teaching in 2007, in the Music School Silva Monteiro (Porto), and later on at several other music institutions in Portugal. She is currently Adjunct Instructor in flute at New York University Abu Dhabi (UAE).

Emil Sein

a native of Timisoara (Romania), is one of the most important Romanian artists of his generation. Clarinetist, saxophonist and knowledgeable of various wind instruments as tilinca, ocarina, didgeridoo, midi-controller over his international Career. Emil Sein studied and was much inspired by many famous teachers and performers as Aurelian O. Popa(clarinet), Constantin Bugeanu(orchestra conductor studies) and Daniel Kientz(saxophone). Emil Sein has been consecutively awarded as one of the best performers at competitions.

Also noteworthy performances as a specialist in chamber music: Heidelberg, Tubingen, Baden-Baden, Berlin, Bremen, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxemburg, Manchester, Budapest, Beijing, Tel-Aviv, Seoul, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Taipei, EE.UU. etc. He has recorded more than twenty CDs with various record labels such as VTCD Hungary, RRB Corporation, ReR Megacorp, Boulli Diffusion, Capston Records, Cavali Records, MPS Music video, releasing more than 500 works and contemporary music concerts.

In 2013 Mr. Emil moved with his family to Abu Dhabi, opening new ways in the interpretation of music, teaching western music, and discovering the Arabic music style. In 2014, he was invited to teach as a substitute teacher of brass, clarinet, saxophone in Brighton College. He is an active member of the National Symphony Orchestra of UAE. In April 2014, Emil was hired as an instrumental music teacher at Al Yasat Private School Abu Dhabi and teaches general music (classroom teacher), piano, Arabic percussion, the theory of music, percussion technology, and choir. Since 2014 Emil Sein has been an active saxophone assistant-teacher at New York University Abu Dhabi, teaching and performing, promoting the contemporary music composers of NYU Abu Dhabi and Arabic composers of the United Arab Emirates. In 2018 Emil was selected by the Ministry of Culture Abu Dhabi as a woodwind teacher for a new educational project.

Kiori Kawai

Kiori Kawai (Japanese, b. 1978) is a performer, choreographer and installation artist. As a dance performance artist, she seeks to merge her body and coexist within nature and all environments. Based in NY, she has worked with Carman Moore/Skymusic Inc., Elaine Summers Dance and Film, Lincoln Center, Serraves Contemporary Museum(Portugal), Mesa Arts Center, Transformation Festival(Denmark/U.S) touring nationally and internationally. She’s built up her own improvisatory movement vocabulary based on the techniques of meditation, Kinetic Awareness, Contact Improv, yoga and various dance/movement training. This led her to designing interactive installation that include human body movement within kinetic sculptures. In 2011, she founded Purring Tiger with Aaron Sherwood. Purring Tiger is a multi-cultural, multimedia, interactive installation/performance group dedicated to bringing people together in the context of Art, in a subtext of Wonder. Their pieces have been commissioned and appeared at Burning Man Arts Festival, Brooklyn Museum, Federation Square (AUS), Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Telfair Museum, Cameron Arts Museum, Scottsdale Public Art and many more. She teaches performance workshops with interactive installation and Contact Improvisation based classes in the US and abroad. http://kiorikawai.com/

Aaron Sherwood

Aaron Sherwood is an interactive media artist exploring cause and effect through the mediums of sound and light. This takes the form of large-scale audio/visual installations, sound sculptures, guerrilla art interventions, and performance.

His work has been shown at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Cameron Arts Museum, Federation Square (Australia), Telfair Museums, Google, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Future of Storytelling conference, Scopitone Festival (France), Burning Man Arts Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art (Portugal), Festival of Curiosity (Ireland), Currents New Media Festival, the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, and many more.

In 2011, along with Kiori Kawai, he founded Purring Tiger, a multicultural, multimedia, an experimental performance group dedicated to bringing people together in the context of art, in a subtext of wonder.

Aaron Sherwood’s research areas include cause and effect represented as light and sound in art and Interaction as a medium for artistic expression.

Bettina Schober

Bettina Schober is a performing artist and dancer. She obtained her Master of Arts degree in contemporary dance and pedagogy from Anton Bruckner Private University, Austria, 2007. She received a prestigious scholarship by the Austrian Ministry of Culture to continue her studies in Canada. She has professionally performed, choreographed, and collaborated in a large number of modern and contemporary dance performances at various European, Canadian, and UAE theaters including: Volksoper Vienna (Turandot, Kehraus von St. Stephan), Impuls Dance Festival Vienna (with Dance Company Elio Gervasi, Zum Landler with Katharina Weinhuber), Dance Festival Bayern, Akademietheater (Rumpelröschen), Dschungeltheatre (Andersgleich), Duc Tac Theater Dubai, Short and Sweet Dance Festival Dubai, etc. Recently she premiered a new piece called “I am on my way” in the Madinat Jumeirah Theater, Dubai, UAE.