Q&A: Rumelia

Posted by Sam Podio in Santa Fe

Rumelia is a contemporary Balkan folk band made up of four women based in Santa Fe, NM, a couple of whom have a history with the previous College of Santa Fe. In honor of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 26, Deborah Ungar, Alysha Shaw, Sitara Schauer and Nicolle Jensen performed at the San Miguel Chapel with guest musician Paul Wexler. SFUAD Contemporary Music Program instructor Deborah Ungar spoke with Jackalope about Rumelia via an email interview. Her responses have been edited for publication.

Jackalope Magazine: Where are you from and what instruments do you play?

Deborah Ungar: I’m a classical pianist, teacher and arts administrator.  I play clarinet and accordion with Rumelia, and occasionally chime in on vocals.  I grew up in Iowa and have lived in New Orleans, San Diego, Washington State among other places.

JM: How did you form your band? Where does your band name originate?

DU: Nicolle Jensen, Leticia Gonzales (current SFUAD student) and I started Rumelia in 2009 after Leticia and I had been playing in Polly Tapia Ferber and Paul Brown’s Balkan-Mideast Ensemble.  Our name is an old word that refers to the region of Northern Greece, Eastern Turkey, Macedonia, Thrace, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and probably a few places I’ve neglected to mention.  Most of the music we play comes from this region.  Soon after we started, we began playing for folk dance events all around New Mexico.  In 2010, Sitara Schauer replaced Leticia, who was living in Albuquerque at the time and wasn’t able to continue playing with us regularly.  We released our first album in 2013 (with Scott Jarrett as recording engineer), which received kudos as one of the top 13 albums of 2013.  Two songs from Lost and Found are also finalists in the New Mexico Music Awards.

Alysha Shaw and Nicolle Jensen had a previous group together.  After Alysha began filling in regularly for Nicolle and sometimes joining us one larger gigs, last fall we decided that all four of us belong together in Rumelia.  It’s been great!

JM: What genre is your music?

DU: Our genre is traditional, folk, Balkan, a little Sephardic/Klezmer.

JM: What’s the best thing about playing in a band? What’s the biggest challenge of being in a band?

DU: The best thing about playing in a band that works together regularly and consistently is the relationships we have developed over time.  The biggest challenge at the moment is finding enough time to dedicate to practicing and rehearsing the way I’d like to amid family, work and life responsibilities.  I’m looking forward to having a little more time over the summer for this.

JM: What is your favorite venue to play at? Why?

DU: We have had two concerts at the San Miguel Chapel this spring, and have another coming up on May 31st with Willa Roberts.  The acoustics are fantastic in that space, and I really enjoy playing in a concert setting.  We have also had a great time playing at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and Taos Plaza.  Those two were highlights for me last summer.

JM: What aspirations do you have for your band?

DU: We plan to record a CD at the San Miguel Chapel this summer of traditional Sephardic, Greek, Turkish and Klezmer music that we’ve been working on for the recent series that concludes on May 31.   I have enjoyed working on this series and hope that we can present similar series regionally or beyond.  I also hope that people can relate to our music the same way we do, finding connection to an authenticity in feeling and music that transcends borders and distances.

Everyone can check out Rumelia here!

Or on Facebook here!

Upcoming gigs for Rumelia:

Saturday, May 3 at Duel Brewery with Greg Butera.

Saturday, May 10 at Adobe Bar at Taos Inn.