Who are the EMC Fellows?
Meet the EMC Fellows 2022 - 2024!
Ana Álvarez Calleja (ES/BE)
Ana comes from a small valley in the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula but have also enjoyed living in international environments. For this reason, she is a nature lover and also enjoys discovering new cultures and traveling. Her career in the music sector has moved in-between music education and administration, while the musician inside her (she plays the violin) is always playing a part.
She has a background in Musicology, which has nurtured her perspective about our musical past and present. During her studies, she discovered the term ´musicking´ and that resumes all her music experiences: playing, learning, teaching, building, and, more recently, helping organising review procedures in music education institutions.
Ania Karpowicz (PL)
Ania is a flutist, curator and activist. Graduate of flute solo studies at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and Bacewicz Music Academy in Łódźk, she is the founder of the Hashtag Ensemble cooperative - a leading Polish new music ensemble based in Warsaw. The ensamble’s work focuses not only on performing concerts, but also on improvisational, educational and social initiatives.
Founder of the WarszeMuzik festival held in old backyards of the remaining houses of the Warsaw ghetto area, she attempts to practice "the art of remembrance" in the public space of Warsaw. WarszeMuzik brings the classical music of the pre-war Warsaw back home. Ania is also co-founder of the Mieczysław Weinberg Institute, curator and soloist in the TOVA project - the cyber solo flute recital interpreting the woman's identity in a post-soviet country.
Cheryl Kwok (HK/CA/UK)
Cheryl Kwok is a composer, conductor, and cultural policy researcher. A graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, she is currently a Consultant at Sound Diplomacy, a global research and strategy consultancy, and can be found constantly exploring (and revelling in) the rapidly-changing landscape of art/music tech and digital cultural policy.
Her passion for improving access and participation in the arts is supported by her roles as Fellow of Creative Impact Research Centre Europe (CIRCE), Project Manager at Young People in the Arts, and a Trustee of Culture&, a charity dedicated to promoting diversity in the arts through development of vocational public programmes. She enjoys learning about dance (particularly ballet) and the visual arts in her spare time.
Chloé Melliez (FR)
Chloé is a 26-year-old administrator and production manager in training, working in a music venue in France. She was born in a family of musicians and developed a love for music from a very young age. She is also very fond of traveling and discovering new cultures.
After spending two years abroad as a foreign language teacher, she set up her mind on working in the music sector, a sector close to her passions and where she feels she can be in line with my values and defend the ideas that are important to me, such as promoting diversity, gender equality and green initiatives.
Didel Bish (NL/IL)
Didel has worked for multiple NGOs, international music festivals, the Johns Hopkins University, as well as for the European Court of Auditors. She holds a Master of Laws degree in European Law and Global Affairs.
Didel is also a professional pianist and alumna of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA). She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music under David Kuyken and a Performance degree under Ellen Mack from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, USA.
Esben Aarup (DK)
Esben is a 23-year-old Danish project manager, fundraiser and Music Management student based in Copenhagen, Denmark. His biggest worklife-joy is finding creative and thought through solutions to increase the possibilities for upcoming bands, event organizers and managers in smaller cities and to help the communities surrounding it to grow.
He is very excited to meet the additional members of the EMC Fellowship programme and completely sure it will be a strong foundation for new meaningful international initiatives to happen in the future.
Lærke Uldal (DK)
Lærke is driven and passionate about the intersection of music and politics as well as the live music sector. She lives by the phrase: Don’t panic - organise! Jobs and projects include Presidency of the Danish Conservatory Students Union and music scout for Roskilde Festival among others.
She is going to conclude her education in September 2022 with the achievement of an MA in Arts Administration & Cultural Policy at Goldsmiths University in London as well as a BA in Music Management at RMC in Copenhagen. All the while having enjoyed the possibilities, volunteering positions and jobs offered to her while studying, she is more than excited to embark on this next step as a full-time music professional.
Maria Kaimaklioti (CY)
Maria Kaimaklioti is a Cypriot music industry professional and cultural producer supporting artists and cultural organisers in realising their creative projects. With a love for connecting organisers to audiences, she consults artists and composers, music promoters, youth centres, cultural foundations and festivals in Cyprus and beyond through project management and business development. Based in Larnaca, she is co-founder Offbeat Agora, a professional development programme for musicians and performing artists from underrepresented regions including east Mediterranean, Balkan, island countries, and currently occupied regions.
She received her MSt in Musicology from Oxford University. After returning to Cyprus she joined Louvana Records until 2022, managing communications, project coordination, and international development for projects including label releases and Fengaros Festival, advising the founders on best practices for the recording sector, partnerships, and conferences. She launched the company's first EU projects including Eurotoire, followed by her creation of Eurotoire: Equaliser, a songwriting programme to boost music industry skills of artists of underrepresented genders from underrepresented regions.
Mimi Harmer (UK)
Mimi has carved out a career at the intersection of music, education, and digital technologies. As a musician, Mimi uses performance and composition to challenge convention. To pull the music industry into the future and bring people together, she is currently combining her drive to widen access and participation in the arts with her knowledge of interactive technologies to prepare an ambitious debut VR experience.
In the education sector Mimi has extensive experience shaping and influencing public policy with the goal of improving education for all. She has worked with senior stakeholders in the UK and the EU, including the European Association of Conservatoires, and as a teacher at Leeds Junior Conservatoire. She is a Council member for the Incorporated Society of Musicians, the AEC, Director of the F-List for Music CIC, and Co-Founder of the European Performing Arts Students' Association.
Sayed Jamaluddin Hashemi (OF/PT)
Sayed is a 30-year-old composer, pianist and conductor from Afghanistan. He is the founder of an organisation called Azhang and is currently living in Lisbon, Portugal and working to build again his organisation there and setting up the International Refugee Orchestra.
Sayed has been the conductor of a youth orchestra for two years, worked with children and prepared them for a gala concert. He has been teaching music in several private institutes in Afghanistan and worked in Iran as sound engineer at Sepahan Studio, producing a wide range of music.