Violist Nefeli Galani was born in Crete, Greece, and currently lives in Offenbach am Main. She is currently a member of various ensembles such as the Grow Quartet, an improv duo with Raphael Languillat and the Kunstkulturkirche improv group. She has also performed with Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Modern Orchestra (EMO) and the Hamburg Camerata. Performances of Heiner Goebbels‘ „A House of Call“ with the EMO have taken her to concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Cologne Philharmonie, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, the Elbphilharmonie and the Prinzregententheater Munich. She has performed at music festivals such as the Witten Days for New Chamber Music, the CRESC…Biennale for Contemporary Music, the 180° Laboratory for Innovative Art in Bulgaria, and the Berlin Festival.
An active improviser, Nefeli is always looking for new ways to incorporate improvisation into the traditional concert format. She is currently working on a solo improvisation album combining guitar effect pedals and acoustic viola to create new sonic possibilities. Her solo viola projects include works dedicated to her by Cornee Roos and Raphael Languillat, as well as a research project focusing on solo viola works by Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Konstantia Gourzi, Caroline Shaw, and Catherine Lamb. Nefeli’s interest in promoting equal gender representation in contemporary music has led her to create a database of works for solo viola by women composers to assist other violist:s in programming.
She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Ionian University and a diploma from the Ionian Conservatory. In 2019, she graduated with a Master’s degree in viola under Professor Anna-Kreetta Gribajcevic at HfMT Hamburg. In 2019/2020 she participated in the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), a collaborative program between Ensemble Modern and HfMDK Frankfurt, graduating with a Master’s degree in Contemporary Performance Practice.
