Catherine Braslavsky

After her master's degree in mathematics and biology in 1985, she began to change careers, finally devoting herself entirely to music. During the next five years, she studied:
- classical voice (Magali Damonte; Philippe Ballois)
- Gregorian Chant (Catholic Institute in Paris, Strasbourg University)
- Medieval Chant (Centre de Musique Médiévale in Paris, Gennevilliers Conservatory)

In 1986 she began intensive studies of the music of Hildegard of Bingen, which now holds a place in her repertoire almost as important as that of Gregorian chant.

In 1989 she began to practice overtone singing with David Hykes, and few months later, became a member of his Harmonic Choir. She was also an assistant teacher in his workshops.
This led to extensive concertizing, in France at major concert halls such as the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, Sacred Art Festival in Paris, and abroad in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Prague, Warsaw, Zurich etc...
She left the Harmonic Choir in 1995 in order to devote herself entirely to her own musical projects.

Long attracted by Indian music, she studied the South Indian classical tradition with Nageswara Rao in 1992-93.
Since then she has pursued research in ancient music (Jewish, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek and early Christian), and contemporary musical traditions.

In 1991, she began to work with Joseph Rowe and Thierry Renard. After several years of research, they performed their first major concerts in 1994, recording their first album "Alma Anima" as well. Since then she has concertized extensively in France, and has performed several concerts in the U.S. She has also performed and composed music for the theater, collaborating with Alain Kremski and Joseph Rowe in the highly acclaimed production "L'Ombre de Lumière", based on the music and texts of Hildegard of Bingen. She also collaborated with Kremski in "Musiques Rares," and with Joseph Rowe in the "Credo" project, as well as the recent performance piece "From Jerusalem to Cordoba", in 2001.

An active music teacher, she has developed her own method of "natural chant," consisting of deep work on the voice, exploring certain musical traditions, and a new approach to improvisation. She teaches in Paris, both individually and in classes, and often directs workshops in France and abroad.

Joseph Rowe         

Of American origin, Joseph Rowe studied classical guitar in the U.S., and then classical Middle Eastern oud with Hamza El Din, a master whose unique marriage of voice and oud, and of Nubian and Arab influences, has been one of the pioneers of what is now called "world music." He has performed several times onstage with Hamza, notably in a concert with the Grateful Dead in San Francisco.[Go here for a personal memoir of Hamza El Din] He also concertized extensively with other Arab, Persian, and African musicians, as well as with medieval groups. During extensive travels in Africa, he learned and performed with musicians from the Congo (percussion, flute), and with Moroccan sufis (percussion, voice, oud), as well as with Afro-Brazilian percussionists and healers.

During the 1980's he worked as a radio producer for National Public Radio stations, and was among the first designers of programs combining classical, jazz, world, and new music, and interspersed with cultural and public affairs interviews.

He now lives in Paris, where he has turned more and more to music and theater, working as musician, writer, composer, and actor. Besides his extensive work with Catherine Braslavsky, he has collaborated with Marc Zammit at the Théâtre Molière in Paris, and with Alain Kremski and Michael Lonsdale at the Cluny Museum (Paris Festival of Sacred Art). He has composed music for a number of theater pieces by authors such as Samuel Beckett, T.S. Eliot, Jean Giono, and Roland Dubillard. Also a writer and storyteller, he has written texts for several theatrical performance pieces with music.

In his work as literary translator, he has translated books by authors such as Henry Corbin, Jacques Attali, Régis Debray, Jean-Yves Leloup, Pierre Rabhi, and books on Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama.


He is also active in research and teaching in the areas of creative-potential therapy, and exercises for integral evolution making use of theater and music. Partly inspired by his study with Bill Douglas , he has developed his own system of exercises called "Holorhythm," a synthesis of body movements, vocalizations, percussion, speech, and meditation, which help unlock the gates to deep listening, inner and outer attention, and creativity. He teaches workshops and sees individual clients in France and abroad.

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