Production Details

Kombos Collective presents Uproot, a powerful program of Greek songs from Asia Minor. Kombos Collective performs modern arrangements of Greek music from the region, celebrating this vibrant musical heritage and capturing the refugee experience through song. Uproot weaves histories and personal stories throughout, generating a universal dialogue about the impact of forced migration and building a bridge to the experience of modern-day refugees. This performance celebrates the release of their new album Uproot. “The Uproot program is intimately compelling…For audiences, this is a journey both of discovery by the ears and recognition by the heart.” —Jeff Kaliss, San Francisco Classical Voice.

Katerina Clambaneva
Katerina Clambaneva specializes in traditional and contemporary Greek music and performs internationally, throughout Europe and the United States. Katerina maintains a busy performance schedule participating in several groups including, PAKAW!, Plastikes Karekles, and the Josquin Singers of B.A.C.H. Career highlights as a vocalist include the dance production of Rebetiko with Yannis Adoniou’s KUNST-STOFF and music by Minos Matsas, with shows in Berlin and San Francisco and the film score for the Spanish film De Tu Ventana a la mia. Katerina was born in San Francisco and raised in Athens, Greece. She has been living in London since 2009, where she completed her Masters in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Music at City University and currently works as a performing arts manager.

Ellie Falaris Ganelin
Ellie Falaris Ganelin is the director of the Kombos Collective, which she founded in 2011. She is a classically trained flutist who welcomes other traditions into the fold, including jazz, Latin, Balkan and klezmer music. She is active as a performer of chamber and orchestral music in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is committed to making classical music inviting and accessible for all as an ambassador and performer for the Awesöme Orchestra Collective. Born and raised in the United States, Ellie is Greek and Croatian-American. Ellie received her B.A. in Music from the University of Maryland, where she also holds a B.A. in Journalism and a Minor in French.

Doug Machiz
Cellist Douglas Machiz is in high demand as both a classical and contemporary musician. He co-founded the Friction Quartet, a nonprofit performing arts organization whose mission is to modernize the chamber music experience and expand the string quartet repertoire. An active educator, Doug is on faculty at The Crowden School, where he teaches private cello lessons and ensembles. A native of Washington, D.C., Doug first came to the Bay Area to attend San Francisco Conservatory, where he earned his Professional Studies Diploma under Jennifer Culp. He also holds a Masters Degree in cello performance from UT Austin, where he studied with Bion Tsang.

Mary-Victoria Voutsas
Mary-Victoria Voutsas is a "powerful" and "enthralling pianist" (Washington City Paper). She has toured extensively as a pianist and classical musician; she has performed solo at many notable venues, including the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage & Terrace Theatre, the Lisner Auditorium, and many embassies. Ms. Voutsas is also one of the visiting Artists in Residency for Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts and has accompanied for the National Symphony Orchestra and artists such as Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alison Krauss, and collaboratively performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk series. Ms. Voutsas resides in the Washington D.C. area, where she teaches piano and theory, and performs regularly. She is completing her D.M.A. at Catholic University, and her dissertation is focused on the piano works of Manos Hadjidakis and the history and influence of rebetika music in Hellenic song.