Pyrenean Soundwaves

A Healing and Music retreat in the Luxury of Domaine Le Puget, SW France

5 days 6 nights

Training days Saturday 31st August to 4th September, 2025 inclusive

In this five-day music and healing retreat, the participants will be bathed in a magical interplay between silent and meditative sound-scapes, both natural and exotic. Against the background of a daily regimen of gentle yoga, qi gong, meditation and chanting with live music from talented world artists, our guests will be given a rich choice of participatory musical and healing events to choose from. This will be a unique retreat where daily singing, chanting and music-making and recitals will be interspersed with excursions to the local farmer and artisan markets in medieval Mirepoix and to ritual Cathar sites where one can hear local healing musicians play.  Relax by the pool or go wild swimming in the rivers and lakes that surround Le Puget. Cycling, forest-walking and horse riding are also possible by arrangement. We will prepare the best of a mix of Occitanie and Asian regional and healing cuisines, with a sensitivity to individual dietary requirements.

Who are we?

The daily intensive music and healing sessions will be led by Catarina Carvalho and Alex Dmochowski, graduates from Trinity Laban conservatoire. They will be joined by Jojo Re’em, Taisha Ahil Milza Lynch, Fu Lu (guzheng), and Mario Christofi and Rama Alcoutlabi who will each supplement a programme that will develop the theme of music and healing interactively. There will be a range of evening activities from lectures, recitals to related film nights.

Catarina Carvalho

Catarina was originally trained as a classical singer and is now a singing teacher, a yoga teacher and sound healer. She facilitates singing groups and sound baths that are designed to help us to relax, rejuvenate and live our best lives, as well as to provide healing and solace for people faced with life challenging illnesses. Her passion for music, sound and wellness will emerge in an experimental programme which will respond creatively to each group and the session leaders.  

Alex Dmochowski

Born and raised in Hackney, Alex has been around music from all over the world since a young age. After first picking up the clarinet at 6 years old and the saxophone at 12, Alex went on to graduate from Trinity Laban Conservatoire. He is inspired by jazz, world and improvised music and currently plays music from varied and rich cultures in bands with musicians from Ghana, India, and South America. He has recently produced his first album Amun with his band In the Name of Ra. ​In the Sound Healing sessions, Alex chants and plays the Native American Peruvian flute, as well as saxophone and drums. Each of his projects inspires and humbles him, on a daily basis, shaping his own work.

Lu FU

Dr. Lu Fu is a clinical practitioner of Chinese medicine, an assistant researcher, and the director of the Museum of Chinese Medical History. With a background in traditional Chinese music, she is passionate about playing the guzheng and has a deep interest in the therapeutic applications of sound. She will introduce the "Five Tones(五音)" theory in Chinese medicine and explore the historical role of classical Chinese music in healing practices as part of the programme. Through her guzheng performances, she will examine how the five tonal moes—Jue, Zhi, Gong, Shang, Yu(角徵宫商羽)—have been integrated into traditional medicine to promote physical health and emotional well-being.

Jo-Gerard Re’em

Jojo is an owner/manager at Le Puget. He was trained as a teenager in classical and jazz trumpet at the School of the Arts in Havana, Cuba; and with Alex and Catarina at Trinity Laban conservatoire. During his degree in Musicology at SOAS, he ran a regular jazz night at Map studio café, and worked with many social projects including Artybonito, Movimiento Azuei (2021) 2020. The album was an international reconciliation project in the Dominican Republic, bringing together local Haitian and Dominican musicians. He plays trumpet in a number of London bands and local orchestras in France.

Taisha Ahil Milza Lynch

Born in Cork and raised in Rome, Taisha is a singer and classical violinist who grew up immersed in her mother’s musical (and dance) environment: traditions from Southern Italy, France and in the Sinti/Rom travelling cultures. From this basis she continues to expand her study of Mediterranean songs to embrace Greek, Balkan, Turkish, Macedonian and Georgian styles and has trained in the Roma singing traditions under Julia Kozáková. Her focus on these practices is deeply tied to the healing power of music, both for performers and audiences.

Rama Alcoutlabi

Rama Alcoutlabi is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and social entrepreneur with a significant online presence. She is passionate about the healing power of music. She studied Oriental Singing at the Higher Institute of Music in Syria, refining her vocal artistry and deepening her connection to the rich traditions of Middle Eastern music. With her unique blend of musical expertise and passion for healing, Rama will create a space for participants to reconnect, express, and find harmony through sound.

Mario Christofi

Mario is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer and teacher specialising in music from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. He was born to Cypriot parents who listened to many different styles of music, sparking his lifelong fascination with music in general, especially folk music and traditional instruments. Mario currently plays over 30 different instruments, produces and writes original music for artists and short films and runs workshops in and around the UK. He often teaches through Music for Peace-Building, which he co-founded. 

Daily Schedule

8:00 – 9:30 am Silence and Soundbathing in Yoga

9:30 – 10:30 am Breakfast

10:30 – 12:30 pm Open Sessions

1:00 – 2:00 pm Lunch

2:00 – 4:00 pm Outings

4:00 – 6:00 pm Sound Meditations

7:00 – 8:00 pm Dinner

Dates

The retreat begins at 8 am on Sunday 31st August 2025.

Check-in after 5 pm on Sunday 30th August 2025.

The retreat ends with a farewell and dinner at 7 pm on 4th September2025.

Check-out by 10 am on 5th September 2025.

Pricing

Pricing includes:

• 5 days of retreat activities as per schedule above

• 5 days of all meals and drinks with a full vegan/vegetarian menu

• 5 days/6 nights of accommodation with en-suite bathroom (except two twin rooms with separate bathroom)

• Walks/Swimming

Extras: Riding, cycling, some of the extra excursions in the Pyrenees

Travel: TBC

For further enquiries please email Vivienne at ucgavlo@gmail.com