June 27 – July 1
Serafio City of Athens
Under the auspices
Three years after its first successful implementation, the El Sistema Greece School of Hip Hop Summer Camp, the pioneering educational music program of El Sistema Greece in collaboration with Blend Mishkin, returns this year to the Serafio City of Athens from June 27 to the 1st July, under the auspices of the Municipality of Athens.
40 children and teenagers aged 10-16, from every region of Athens, without any discrimination or restriction, with or without musical knowledge, will have the opportunity to participate in the program for free for a whole week at the Serafio City of Athens, an attractive modern cultural space, open and accessible to all. ESG School of Hip Hop students will collaborate with DJs and MCs and well-known Hip Hop guest artists such as Anser and Taf Lathos, will create and record their own original music and – as true artists – will present it to the public in a big concert!
During the week of the summer camp graffiti workshops and break dance lessons are also included. That is, everything the children need in order to get in touch with all the elements of hip hop (djing, rhymin, break dance, graffiti) and to set up a complete show. Their own show!
Registrations start on Tuesday, June 21 (on a first come first served basis) and the big closing concert will take place on Friday, July 1 at 19.30 with free admission for the public.
The original educational music program was created by El Sistema Greece in collaboration with the musician and producer Blend Mishkin, with the aim of introducing children to the world of hip hop culture, teaching them how to use techniques and tools to make their own music with the minimum equipment and of course, to give them the opportunity to present their musical creations on stage.
Although the methodology of El Sistema Greece is based mainly on classical music, in this program we focus on this genre as it is a fact that it belongs to the most popular music genres and attracts the interest of a younger audience. In addition, as a genre, hip hop is based on personal stories and experiences, has a pleasant rhythm and invites children to create by expressing their thoughts and feelings, while at the same time having fun and coming closer.
Blend Mishkin (George Mantas) is the first in Greece to work on what we call Caribbean sound. He has worked as a composer and producer for world-renowned Reggae and Hip Hop artists, has made numerous covers for bands and artists such as Ward21 and Dub Pistols, and in 2006 founded the record company Cast-a-Blast. His music is played on the radio worldwide by producers such as David Rodigan (BBC1Xtra), Andrew Weatherall (NTS) and Toddla T (BBC Radio One) and as a DJ he has appeared in most European countries and at many international festivals. Blend Mishkin has collaborated with El Sistema Greece since 2018 on various projects, such as the El Sistema Greece School of Hip Hop Summer Camp, which was first implemented in 2019 at the French Institute, the Lullaby Project where he participated as a composer in 2020, while in 2021 he designed and presented together with El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra at the Herodion the concert “World A Music”, within the Athens Epidaurus Festival.
