Kelly Thoma :: Official Website

Kelly Thoma was born in Piraeus in 1978. Since 1995, she has been studying the lyra with Ross Daly and three years later  started travelling with him and his group, “Labyrinth”, participating in concerts in Europe, Asia, Australia and the U.S. She has taken part in many projects with musicians from various different traditions from other countries.

Being a member of "Labyrinth" and Labyrinth Musical Workshop she has  had the chance to meet many important musicians such as the Trio Chemirani, Omer Erdogdular, Derya Turkan, Zohar Fresco, Pedram Khavar Zamini, Dhruba Ghosh, Ballake Sissoko, Erdal Erzincan, Mehmet Erenler, Hossein Arman,Yurdal Tokcan, Ustad Mohammed Rahim Khushnawaz and many more. She participates in many of Ross Daly's projects : Ross Daly Quartet, Seyir, Iris, White Dragon (...) as well as in TOKSO string quartet, (with Anne Hytta, Sigrun Eng and Eleonore Billy).She has  graduated from the English Literature department of the Athens University as well as from the ”Rallou Manou” Dance School.

Her first album titled Anamkhara was released in 2009 by Seistron Music. It is comprised of seven of her own compositions with the participation of great masters Zohar Fresco, Efren Lopez, Pedram Khavar Zamini, Ahmet Erdogdular and Ross Daly.

The term "contemporary modal music" has been created by Ross Daly and describes the sum total of contemporary compositions created today by musicians working within various modal traditions. This music is the continuation of the procedure of modal composing through a very free perspective and is not at all connected with the goal of "preserving traditions". It is the contemporary expression of the beauty of modality (phrase-orientated non-harmonic music which often employs non-tempered intervals).

Kelly's lyras are made by Stelios Petrakis and Leonidas Spanos.

The design of this type of lyra was created by Ross Daly in 1991. The first one was constructed in Athens by Nikos Bras. This lyra has three playing strings (A-D-G) and 12 to 22 sympathetic strings.