Eastern Percussions - Frame Drums

With Julie LOBATO
Description:
The bendir is a millennia-old frame drum found in the Middle East and the Maghreb. Depending on the culture, it is also called daf or tof. It is a finger percussion instrument, meaning it is played with all the fingers, allowing for levels of virtuosity and finesse that can be truly exhilarating with practice! The sound can be warm and soft at times, and dynamic and bright at others, making it suitable for accompanying singing, dancing, or enjoying solo.

Program:
Techniques on the drum in a seated position (lap style). Traditional rhythms from the Middle East. It is possible to borrow a Bendir; please specify this upon registration.

Required Level: Beginner

Schedule:
November 14, 10 AM to 12 PM – 1 PM to 3 PM
November 15, 10 AM to 1 PM – 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM
December 12, 1 PM to 6 PM
December 13, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM – 2 PM to 4 PM
Additional private lessons available on workshop days. Contact us for availability.

Location: Le Jardin Intérieur, 204 Rue Mion Saint-Michel, 34070 Montpellier – Tramway Saint-Martin.

Fees: €180 to €210 for the pass, €105 to €125 for the weekend, €40 for the private lesson.

Registration: via Helloasso

Don’t forget to join the Yao collective when registering in addition to the workshop. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Biography

A self-taught musician and researcher based in Marseille, she has been exploring traditional creation music for several years, particularly from Anatolia, Northern Portugal, and the Mediterranean region. She practices singing, Eastern percussion (daf, bendir, riq), and the lavta, a lute from Constantinople, at the intersection of the aesthetics of Minor Asia and the Iberian culture in which she grew up. Her artistic approach focuses on the intertwining of song and rhythm, with poetry and lyricism, serving the narrative. She studied percussion with Yshai AFTERMAN and his master Zohar FRESCO.
Founder and artistic director of the Kyl-Kobyz company since 2022, she is also an educator: she has led numerous workshops on Eastern percussion and currently teaches percussion, singing, and lute. She also conducts cultural mediation activities with various audiences (students, people with disabilities, nursing homes, etc.).
For her creation 2026–2027, Tras Os Montes, she relies on field research in Portugal, blending collection, exchanges with local and traditional musicians, moments of shared music and transmission, as well as a writing process. Trained by traditional musicians in Greece, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, as well as through numerous workshops, she has received instruction according to the oral tradition, notably from Gulseven Medar, Yshai Afterman, Evgenios Voulgaris, Periklis Papapetropoulos, and tenor Christian Crozes. She is a recipient of a FAMDT fellowship in 2026 for the study of the lavta with Turkish virtuoso Murat Aydemir.
Her work has been presented at the Cité de la musique de Marseille, the Cultural Space of Chaillol, the Telephone Meetings of Calvi, the Polyphonic Festival of Calvi, the CN Festival, CM Voce, and the Hestiv’Òc festival. She currently plays with the groups Rundinelle and Koskina Trio.

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