H.I.P.S.T.E.R.
HISTORICALLY INFORMED PERFORMANCE SERIES,
TEACHING, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH
When?
Sunday 30th November 5pm–7pm GMT (6pm–8pm CET)
Where?
Online / En liña
About
ONLINE WORKSHOP
A Galician Trip: Genres, Styles and Repertoire of Galician Traditional Hurdy-Gurdy Music with Ariel Ninas
Sunday 30th November 2025
6pm–8pm CEST
5pm–7pm GMT
12–2pm EST
35€
All playing levels welcome.
From Galicia in the North West of the Iberian Peninsula, H.I.P.S.T.E.R. brings a special collaboration with aCentral Folque’s autumnal Zona da Zanfona festival 2025 with a special online masterclass for international audiences. Taught by Galician performer, composer, and teacher Ariel Ninas, this course is geared towards individuals interested in general technique and those interested in learning about how Galician traditional music is played on the hurdy-gurdy and how it can be applied to other styles (such as how a Muinheira can be assimilated to a Cercle Circassien, or a Xota to a Bourrée).
Any player can attend the session, as given tunes will be organised in different levels. Even non-hurdy-gurdy players can benefit from the workshop!
A general overview of Galician traditional music will be explained and can be applied to many instruments.
Language: English
Enquiries: matricula@folque.com
This workshop focuses on the core of traditional Galician music as we understand it today, drawing upon upon written 19th century sources, songbooks, and folklore compilations, late 20th century field recordings, and oral traditions that preserved Galician styles through song and instrumental music. This workshop will explore how European and American rhythms adapted to the Galician styles through mazurkas or rumbas; the unique identity of the ancient dance 'muinheira'; and the importance of language. This information will be applied to the hurdy-gurdy through articulation, ornamentation, and coup de poignet, rhythmic accompaniment based on the tambourine, drums, and other percussion instruments.
Additional material will be given for further study, including more than 30 tunes, several pages of musical writings for the hurdy-gurdy, and exercises for the trompette articulation applied to the main dance rhythms, audios, videos, and links to online resources.
Ariel Ninas
A native of Galicia, Spain, Ariel Ninas has been playing hurdy-gurdy since 2001. A prize-winning performer, composer, educator, and author, he maintains an active career as a soloist and collaborative musician dedicated to traditional Galician music and contemporary, including electronic, droning, and free improvisation.
He studied at aCentral Folque, the Galician Centre for Traditional Music and privately with Óscar Fernández and Germán Diaz. He also attended workshops with Valentin Clastrier, Tobie Miller, Matthias Loibner, Gilles Chabenat, Pascal Lefeuvre, Gregory Jolivet, and Patrick Bouffard.
Highlights among his numerous collaborations and projects include: Inflatable Buddha, an Oxford punk-rock-skiffle-acoustic band; Galician Free Improvisation scene including OMEGA (Galician Orchestra of Spontaneous Music); he has also taken part in festivals such as the Traumzeit (Duisburg) with Michael Fisher and ImaxinaSons with Fred Frith; ‘Cantos de Cegos de Galiza e Portugal’ (aCFolque, 2016); ‘Do Natal aos Reis’ (aCFolque, 2019) with Portuguese musicians César Prata and Catarina Mora.
He is the coauthor of two books: Abellón, o libro negro das zoadeiras along with Xoán-Xil López and Atlas de zanfona with Antón Santamarina, a free downloadable booklet with names for parts of the hurdy-gurdy in 12 different languages with designs and comments.
He has given workshops in Galicia, Portugal and Ireland and teaches regular lessons in folkloric associations in Tordoia and Corunha and at the Conservatorio Superior de Galicia in Valga.
Registration OPENS 3 NOVEMBER
(https://zanfona.folque.com/zdz-online-courses/zdz-online-2025-festival-masterclass)
*You will receive an email confirmation (not immediate, not automatic) with instructions to follow for payment.
By sending this you are allowing us to include your address in our mailing list, from which you can unsubscribe at any time. (We promise to only send topics of interest about the hurdy-gurdy topics and just a few times a year.) Real People are behind this mailing list, so you will not receive spam from us.
This online workshop is presented as a partnership between Zona da Zanfona and H.I.P.S.T.E.R. (Historically Informed Performance Series, Teaching, Education and Research).
Zona da Zanfona is a festival organised by aCentral Folque, with funding from Deputación de Coruña. Departamento de Cultura and with support from the Concello de Arzúa.
H.I.P.S.T.E.R. is a concert series based in Limerick, Ireland, organised by Now and Then Media and made possible with support from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and with support from the Limerick City and County Council / Limerick Arts Office.