Nora Thiele is a multi-instrumentalist, artistic director, composer and shifter between genres, eras and cultures. She works in transdisciplinary projects and creates intercultural concert programmes. All her work lives from an awareness of music history and holistic contexts. Rhythm and improvisation are central to her work. Raised in a family of music and theatre professionals, she completed her music studies in Leipzig, majoring in ethnic percussion and piano. She has been a freelance musician since 2004. As a frame drum pioneer, her sensitive virtuosity places her in a line of tradition with Glen Velez and Layne Redmond. Nora Thiele is committed to the creation of a new repertoire for frame drums. Contemporary composers such as Klaus Huber and Bernd Franke have written works for her with symphony orchestra. Nora Thiele also composes music herself, incorporating instruments from different cultures. In the last 20 years Nora Thiele toured through Europe, the Middle East and China with more than 1000 concerts. Her enormous knowledge of rhythm grows out from decades of intensive study of musical traditions from Europe, the Middle East, South India, West Africa and African-American cultures. Nora Thiele passes on her holistic teaching to students at the music conservatory Weimar as well as in workshops worldwide and master classes at music academies. www.norathiele.de