Polina Tšerkassova
STORYTELLER AND MUSICIAN (ESTONIA)
Polina Tšerkassova is an Estonian storyteller and multi-instrumentalist with a background in Social and Cultural Anthropology. Polina comes from a lineage of storytellers and she was raised in a family where stories were told on daily basis. Polina intertwines her stories with the sound of rare musical instruments that she gathered during her extensive travels around the world: African kamele ngoni and various kalimbas, Persian setar, different flutes and bagpipes, Lithuanian grandfather of a clarinet - birbyne, Turkish grandmother of a cello - rebab, Estonian lapharp - kannel, various percussion, and many others. Polina sees sound and music as a strong medium in storytelling. She studied the tradition of using musical instruments in storytelling back through centuries and across various regions.
Polina performs in Estonia and abroad. She published four audiobooks with storytelling and her music, which are available in Estonian, English and Russian in her YouTube and all other platforms. Her first storytelling audiobook “Singing Stories” was nominated for the annual literary award in Estonia in 2018. Polina also teaches Social and Cultural Anthropology in Tallinn University and at Estonian Academy of Art. She used to live in Istanbul and did her extensive ethnographic fieldwork studying the Sufi practices and the Turkish music therapy. Polina currently lives in her hometown of Tallinn.
Website: music.polinastoryteller.com
Youtube: PolinaTserkassovaStoryteller
