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Lamenting workshop with Tuomas Rounakari 10th January 2026Laments are a global genre of traditional music related to death rituals and other rites of passage. Laments often combine improvised melody, poetry and natural tears.
The workshop includes practical exercises intended to bring forth a hands-on experience about how laments can be done. We will work through group exercises studying the interconnectedness of individual and collective grief.
No prior experience is required, not on laments, singing, improvising nor crafting poetry. The only requirements are an inner call to try or do laments, capability to witness others in grief and holding others while being held in a group.
Bio Tuomas:
Tuomas Rounakari is an internationally acclaimed violinist, composer, ethnomusicologist and educator from Finland. He is a versatile musician ranging from avantgarde improvisation to folk-metal, from contemporary classical music compositions to film scoring and sound design. His Doctor of Arts thesis discusses the altered states of consciousness and the ability to engage in dialogue with the more-than-human through music. The case study in his thesis centres around the Bear Feast traditions of Finland, Karelia and the indigenous Khanty and Mansi people in Siberia.
Tuomas Rounakari has been a key figure in the revival of the near extinct lament tradition in Finland. He learned the essence of laments from the Karelian elder Martta Kuikka, who was the first to bridge Karelian lament tradition and modern-day Finland. Subsequently, together with Pirkko Fihlman, Tuomas Rounakari developed a model of teaching laments in grief circles that allowed the participants to create their unique laments and be witnessed in their grief. During the past 20 years of workshops and ceremonies, Tuomas has been birthing and witnessing over a thousand individual laments across continents.
📍 Forsøgsstationen - Wittmaack
📅 10.1.2026
⏰ 13:00–17:00
🌍 Language: English
🆓 Free of charge
The workshop is open to performers, artists, and anyone curious about embodied voice and somatic practice.
Participation is free, and there is room for 25 people.
If you’d like to join, please register by sending me an email at
[email protected].
Places will be filled on a first come, first served basis.
This workshop is part of a series of six practice-sharing events taking place throughout 2026, organised by connective matter works / Antoinette Helbing.
connective matter works operates across stage, installation, site-specific formats, and film, combining somatic practices with expressive performance. The work explores the continuous exchange between body and voice - how the body becomes voice, and how voice reshapes the body. Starting from basic human expressions such as laughter and crying, the artistic practice investigates emotional states as shared, embodied phenomena, activating empathy, resonance, and connection between performers and audiences.
This event is made possible with the support of @statenskunstfond.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Forsøgsstationen, Sønder Boulevard 81, 1720 København V, Danmark, Copenhagen , Denmark
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