The hands that shape the sound

Memli KELMENDI (Composer, Conductor) was born in 1986 in Peja, Kosovo.

He completed his post-graduate studies for conducting (vocal and instrumental) in Pristina and Composition - Music Production - Sound Engineering in North Macedonia. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in choral conducting in Sh. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. His most famous compositions are Agnus Dei, Ater Umbra, Silentium Est Pax, Pax, Renuo, Dies Lunae, etc. His composition for the mixed choir "Ater Umbra" (2017) has been published in France by Choir "EVOC Ensemble" and is already part of the CD from the label "Les Choristes Aux Milles Couleurs." The composition "Silentium Est Pax" for the vocal ensemble was performed and recorded in the "Sottovoce Ensemble" CD at Les Musicales de Redon, France.

Memli Kelmendi is also known as a film composer. He has composed feature films, short films, theater, documentaries, etc. He wrote the music and designed the sound of Samir Karahoda's film 'In Between,' which Kosovo showed for the first time at the 'Berlinale Film Festival 2019. Also, in Samir Karahoda's film "Displaced," which was selected among ten short films to compete for the "Palme d'Or" at the prestigious "Festival de Cannes," etc., he composed the music and designed the sound of the film. He completed the three-year training for Composition, Music Theory, and Piano Tuning for Blind Children at the "Jana Deyla" Conservatory - Prague. He currently works as a professor at the "Halit Kasapolli" High School of Music in Peja and the AAB University in Pristina as a lecturer of film and theater music, orchestration, and choral conducting. He is the permanent conductor of the most popular Choir in Kosovo, "Siparantum Choir." Before the Siparantum Choir, he founded and, for a short time, was the conductor of the "PEJA" City Choir.

He has conducted in some of the leading musical countries, such as; Berlin Philharmonie; Basilica di San Marco, Venice; Queen Elisabeth Hall, Antwerp; Hrvatski Glazbeni Zavod, Croatia; Ljubljana Cathedral, Slovenia, etc.

Many participating countries performed his mixed choral composition "With a flower - With a flower," commissioned by Neerpelt - European Youth Music Festival. In Neerpelt - European Music Festival for Young People, he led a Workshop related to this composition and presented Choral Music of Kosovo. Finally, at the Homelands festival, he lectured on his music "Ater Umbra" and conducted this composition, which over 150 singers sang at the Berlin Philharmonie (2023).

As a composer and conductor, he has performed in many countries of the world, such as Charleston, New Jersey, New York, Los Angeles, California, Florida, Chicago, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania, Philippines, Chile, Argentina, UK – London, France, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Bosnia, Turkey, Belgium, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, etc.

In 2021, he conducted a concert with the Kosovo Philharmonic Choir, which was highly appreciated by the music community in Kosovo. Finally (February 2022), he held a concert with the Siparantum Choir at the prestigious Berlin Philharmonie.

Since 2018, Kelmendi has been a member of the World Choir Council (INTERKULTUR), representing Kosovo internationally. He also serves as National Ambassador to the International Choral Conductors Federation (ICCF) and is a member of the Steering Committee of the World Choral Conducting Network (WCCN). His artistic work has been presented in more than 35 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including the United States, South Korea, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Switzerland, and beyond.