Dunyana

​Music is the greatest language of all which reflects the heart and soul of a nation you may never get to know… Now you can!
 
Dunyana (Meaning ‘our world’ in Arabic) presents an eclectic range of music from around the world exploring the beauty of traditional folk songs fused with ‘Western’ popular styles.
 
We are a Manchester-based band made up of a cross-section of different nationalities; Jordanian, Cypriot, Greek and Spanish.

​Sara Dowling (vocals)

Sara Dowling is a vocalist and cellist. She studied at Chethams School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester as a cellist with many revered artists and performed a concerto with the Halle Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall as well as Chamber music festivals throughout Britain.

Ben Chadwick (tenor sax, flute)

Ben started studying saxophone at Oundle School with Alan Wakeman. Since then he has gone on to study with saxophonists such as Jean Toussaint, Dave O'Higgins & Andy Scott.

Yanis Gjylaci (guitar)

Yanis Gjylaci is a classical guitarist who graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with BMus (Hons) and a postgraduate diploma having studied with Craig Ogden.

Rick Farrow (drums)

Rick is a professional percussionist and all round artist, graduating with a BTEC distinction in performing arts covering various disciplines.

Litsa Levendis (violin)

Litsa Levendis studied violin at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Since leaving the RNCM she is fusing her classical training with her Cypriot roots on the World Music scene. She is now a professional freelance violinist and also plays in the Greek band 'Melodia'.

Barry Howard (bass)

Barry plays Electric Bass and is an active musician who plays mainly Pop, Soul and jazz and brings his influences to the band. He is currently being introduced to many different types of world music including African, Mediterranean and South American.

Rory Duffy (alto sax, soprano sax, clarinet)

Rory is a saxophonist based in Manchester. After completing his performance studies at the RNCM, current projects include the Diáspora Collective 15-piece salsa band and his latin jazz quintet. Rory is equally a researcher and has traveled to Cuba to carry out ethnomusicological fieldwork on the Afro-Cuban influence in world music. 

Dave Insua-Cao (percussion)

Dave has recently graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music. He has a great interest in Afro‑Brazilian music; he performed in the 2008 Rio de Janeiro Carnival, and has since led community outreach projects teaching Samba drumming. He currently works with various function bands including The Good, the Bad and the Funky and Diáspora Collective.