Ellie Falaris Ganelin shares her story about how she studied her heritage languages by taking Croatian and Modern Greek language lessons as an adult. Improving her heritage language skills has helped her improve her career as a Balkan musician, be able to pass on her heritage cultures to her children better, and to have a stronger connection to her cultures herself.

Our language cooperative has a solid foundation in the Balkan music tradition. Many of our students and founders are active in Turkish and Greek music communities in San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Music draws learners in, deepens cultural understanding, and supports language acquisition. Here is a list of music ensemble performing Greek and Turkish songs in the SF Bay Area.