Mehmet Ungan

In the artist's words:

Mehmet Ungan studied sociology in Mannheim and is a musician, lecturer and chairman of the board of OMM. He has been working with socially disadvantaged young people with and without a migration background for over 20 years, whereby the integrating power of music plays a major role. His social and music education work includes the Internationaler Bund Mannheim, the Treff International Ludwigshafen and numerous integration projects. He currently heads the semi-open youth work and street working project with Bulgarian young people within the OMM.

As a lecturer at universities, he teaches Islamic mystical music and transcultural music programs in social work, including in Frankfurt, Mannheim and Innsbruck.

Mehmet Ungan is co-founder of the Sufi community Gayanshala. He performs with his Sufi music group Hosh Neva at intercultural and interreligious events throughout Europe. He owes his virtuosity on his instruments Ud and Ney to his two teachers Necati Çelik and Ömer Erdogdular (students of the legendary Ney master Niyazi Sayin). As a guest musician and singer he took part in "Salto! Sing! Dance! Till Heaven graces the Earth" by L'Arpeggiata/ Christina Pluhar. The production was a program focus of the Ruhrtriennale 2011.

At the academy, Mehmet Ungan teaches the music and playing technique of the Ney and Ud instruments. He also runs instrument making courses for the Sufi flute Ney.