about
Herje Mine is a band that feels, lives and plays the balkan music with all of its depth and passion. The five musician's hearts seem to be powerfully rooted with this wonderful kind of music. The audience will feel wanderlust, nostalgia and the will to dance immediately while listening. You can't escape from their sound and emotions! The musicians are coming from Poland, Israel, Venezuela and Germany: Izabela KaÅ‚duÅ„ska – violin, Friederike von Oppeln-Bronikowski – clarinet, Gal Levy – drums, Jakob Petzl – double bass and Mauricio Vivas – accordeon. Together they create a world of sound made of tempo, dynamic, diversity, rhythm, improvisation and virtuosity. With their skills they take everybody into a world of sensuality and fire!
the band
Izabela Kałduńska - violin
Born in Gdansk, Izabela studied violin at HMT Leipzig. She is successful with her solo project the new solarism. She played in symphony orchestras such as the Staatskapelle Halle, as live support from Der Täubling or Einstürzende Neubauten, with contemporary compositions, her own loop station and she experiments with electronic music. Izabela currently lives as a freelance musician and composer in Leipzig.
Friederike von Oppeln-Bronikowski - clarinet
Friederike studied clarinet at HfMT Hamburg and HMT Leipzig. Since her school days she has played in klezmer and Balkan bands. She is a member of the ensemble Rozhinkes and Klänge der Hoffnung. During 2016/17, 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, she was engaged as associate solo clarinetist at Theater Vorpommern. Friederike plays as an orchestral assistant at home and abroad, also projects with new music, chamber music, experiments with improvisation and her own compositions. She currently lives as a freelance musician in Leipzig. www.friederikevonoppeln.de
Gal Levy - drums
Gal is from Israel. She studied classical guitar at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. There she was a member of the Emil Aybinder Ensemble, DADAdrag and the Smartut Ensemble. She has recorded film music ("Objector", "#Uploading_Holocaust") and participated in various plays such as "Moskabie". She learned drums and percussion with the activists group Rhythms of Resistance Jerusalem. Gal learned to play the complete drum set for Herje Mine and has been an irreplaceable member of the band ever since. The Klezmer music is Gal from the cradle; she enriches the band sound tremendously.
Mauricio Vivas - accordeon
Mauricio is active in numerous bands and ensembles, such as Sesiones del Sur and the​ Gypsy Ska Orquestra. He is the organistor at the Roots and Sprouts Festival.. Mauricio is currently studying as a master student at the HGB Leipzig.
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Jakob Petzl - double bass
​Jakob studied jazz double bass with Prof. Pepe Berns at the HMT Leipzig and in the master's degree in classical double bass with Prof. Frithjof Grabner. He is a member of various jazz formations such as Trio.Diktion (Leipzig Young Talent Prize 2014 and 2nd Prize Young Munich Jazz Prize 2016) and Die Meierei. Jakob plays as an assistant in various chamber and symphony orchestras and is active in church music. In the 2016/17 season he was engaged as a substitute at the Halle Opera.
school concerts
We offer school concerts and come to your school! The cultural and democratic education of children and young people is very important to us. In our school concerts we make Balkan music tangible, present our instruments and the profession of musicians, and talk about our personal stories with and without migration biographies. If you are interested, please send us a message!
band coaching
Do you play in an (amateur) band and you would like to know more about how to arrange pieces, improvise and which styles you can use in Balkan and Klezmer music to make it sound really good? Would you like to get ahead and need support? We are happy to arrange a workshop or coaching! Just write to us!