Residency of Duo Ourika: Clémence Mebsout & Valentin Hoffmann

hosted by Festival de Chaillol

Participating countries:

  • France
  • Germany
  • Kosovo
  • Music
© Alexandre Chevillard

Period

  • From 30-03-2026 to 27-09-2026
Generation #4

Website

Address

Gap

Project summary

The Chaillol Festival and the Duo Ourika share a focus on itinerancy, heritage, and transmission. This residency aims to create a new repertoire and to explore new mediation methods and create high quality promotional materials to reach new and diverse audiences. It will unfold in three phases: a spring session for artistic creation, coaching by a qualified mentor, and school experiments; a two-day summer residency during the Festival de Chaillol deepening creation and culminating in a family musical walk; and a final three-day session in a Hautes-Alpes studio in september to produce media materials with videographers and a photographer.
© Alexandre Chevillard

Artist

Duo Ourika: Clémence Mebsout & Valentin Hoffmann

Biography: The Ourika is a river that springs from the foothills of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and flows through the valley bearing its name, all the way to the outskirts of Marrakech. After a journey to Morocco, her father’s homeland, cellist Clémence Mebsout fell in love with the traditional Berber, Gnawa, and Arab-Andalusian repertoires. She founded Duo Ourika with fellow cellist Valentin Hoffmann, with whom she developed a deep artistic connection. Without denying their roots in Western classical music, nor claiming the heritage of a tradition that is not their own, the two musicians explore the melodic landscapes of North African music. Alongside masters of the Oriental tradition, they experiment with new ways of playing and sharing, crafting a repertoire that blends composition and improvisation
Contact: duoourika@gmail.com
Social media: https://www.instagram.com/duo.ourika/ https://www.facebook.com/p/Duo-Ourika-61552022102965/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4gcFchc9ww

Participating festivals

Back to overview