The Musicians
David Cazalet
Creator, Composer, Producer
David is a musician and an entrepreneur. His music is influenced by the music of Andalucia, Spain. He is particularly interested in the music of Aleppo and its ‘Andalus’ genre – unique and specific to Aleppo, testament to the city’s musical roots.
David composed Requiem for Aleppo first as a piece of music – mixing the Christian lyrics of the Requiem Mass and early Arabic poetry, some of it from twelfth century Andalucia, to honour the rich Arab/Christian heritage of Aleppo.
David is currently working on his second album of his own songs.
Rasmus Andersen
Production, Compositional Collaboration, Arrangements, Session Playing
Danish born singer and producer Rasmus Bom Andersen arrived in London in 2005 to undertake a higher education in music.
After 3 years of studying at LCCM in West London Rasmus now specialises in vocals and performance, but also works in music production and composition. Musically he works with many styles, but has hard rock in his bones and is the lead singer of legendary NWOBHM metal band Diamond Head.
Rasmus has been producing music with David Cazalet for the last four years, with Requiem for Aleppo being their most ambitious and exciting collaboration to date.
Currently when Rasmus is not on tour with Diamond Head he works as a freelance session vocalist, producer and composer, and is the audio production supervisor and composer for upcoming fitness app Apocalypse Survival Training.
Monika Koscielna
Violin
Monika was born in 1989, Panki, Poland. In 2008, she started studying violin performance at The Academy of Music in Cracow. In 2011, she received her Bachelor of Art degree with high distinction. In 2012, she was granted a scholarship by The Guildhall School of Music and Drama to continue her music education as a postgraduate student. Monika has performed in The Guildhall Symphony Orchestra and The London Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Valery Gergiev. In December 2012, she was selected for a public masterclass with Leonidas Kavakos. She has performed in many renowned venues across Europe, including Barbican Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London, Herkulessaal in Munich, RBB Saal in Berlin.
Monika received her Master of Performance diploma in 2014. She is currently working at The Warminsko – Mazurska Philharmonic in Olsztyn. She is also the first violinist at The Philharmonic of Wit, the spectacle combining classical music with comedy.
Monika is classically trained but has always searched for an inspiration in other genres. Pushing musical boundaries led her to the discovery of the world music with its wide range of styles. She is constantly developing this passion by cooperating with such artists as Koby Israelite (Israel), Gamid Ibadullayev (Azerbajian) or Caz Benedict (UK).
Calie Hough
Percussion
Calie is a London-based percussionist who grew up in Cornwall playing drums in the South-West’s traditional jazz scene. As an active orchestral and chamber musician, she has played with the Nash Ensemble, Ensemble Bash, London Philharmonic Choir, and Southbank Sinfonia.
Calie also specialises in world percussion and has worked with composers including Karl Jenkins, Michael Finnissy and Ilaiyaraaja, India’s greatest film composer, on his score for the film Nee Thaanae En Pon Vasantham. With a passion for contemporary music, Calie has performed numerous new works, including Ocean with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Calie is the percussionist for Sounding Motion, a new company exploring the relationship between live contemporary chamber music and dance.
Her theatre credits include a U.K. tour of Opera for the Unknown Woman, written, directed and co-composed by award winning sound artist, Melanie Wilson.
Rihab Azar
Oud
Graduate of the Conservatoire of Damascus. First woman oudist to solo perform accompanied by the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music. Recognised in 2016 by Arts Council England as an “Exceptional Promise”. Studying MA in Music Education at UCL].
Rihab was recognized in December 2016 by Arts Council England as an “Exceptional Promise” in her field of expertise. Currently completing her Master’s degree in Music Education at University College London. Having learned the oud supervised by masters of the instrument from Syria, Turkey and Azerbaijan she was able at an early age to prove herself as one of the virtuoso players, which lead her in 2014 to become the first woman to solo-perform on oud accompanied by The Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music.
She had been the oud player of the established “Syrian Female Oriental Takht” between 2006 and 2015, the time when she left Syria for further education sponsored by The Foreign and Common Wealth Office.
She has been performing around the UK since 2015, giving instrumental lessons and collaborating with unique musicians and art sponsors, the most recent being Damon Albarn and AfricaExpress.
Dan Baune
Guitar, Compositional Arrangements
Born and raised in post cold-war northern Germany, a 19-year old Dan Baune moved to the UK in 2008 to pursue a music career and study at the London College of Music.
Since graduating in 2011, Dan has spent his time playing for numerous UK artists and bands (Monument, 2 Cards of 25, Benjamin Bloom, CalatrilloZ, Achilla, Koukie and Richard Campbell’s Prog-Rock opera “Frankenstein” to name but a few). Over the past decade, Dan’s guitar playing has featured on dozens of mechanical releases, alongside industry veterans such as Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest), Roy Z (Dickinson, Halford), Eric Forrest (Voivod, EForce), Bob Katsionis (Firewind, Outloud), Matt C (Biomechanical, OneMachine) and Roger Kirchner (Apophis). He has performed live all across Europe, in Canada and in Colombia.