Global Echoes

Global Echoes is not so much a world music programme as a unique exploration across the county of Oxfordshire to discover and unearth the people who play music from across the globe on exotic instruments.

It's presented by the writer and broadcaster Marcos who spent many years as a flamenco guitarist so we can be sure that there will be plenty of Andalusian and North African music in the programmes.

Global Echoes is a show that really gets behind the people who practice the music of other cultures, just why they do it, and whether the music is an important echo of their place of birth. For people who were born in Oxfordshire, the team want to know what attracted them to learn a non-native instrument.

Marcos (left) in action

Some of the highlights of the first two series included revealing the secrets of the Banbury Didgeridoo Society or visiting Bicester in search of the Turkish long necked lute.  Global Echoes also meets the stars of world music when they visit Oxfordshire, where Marcos and his reporters Rich and Kate like to get backstage and get the maestros to demonstrate their musical skills just for the audience of BBC Oxford. Rodrigo and Gabriela and the giant of the Indian bamboo flute Hariprasad Chaurasia are just two acts that have experienced the 'Global Echoes' treatment.

Global Echoes is very much a team effort from BBC Oxford that was born when reporter Rich Ward and researcher Andrew Findlay got together with Marcos to find a new way to explore and showcase the rich musical talent of the county. Rich is best known for his laid back interviewing style that gets the best out of performers whilst Andrew has a well deserved reputation for his ability to scour discs to unearth the finest international musical gems. Last but not least, polishing the programme to a standard that led to a Sony Radio Academy Award nomination, is producer Ross Heaton - a wizard when it comes to production techniques.

Sidi Goma-The Black Sufis of Gujurat

Join Marcos and the team for the fourth series of Global Echoes, every Sunday evening for four weeks from the 19th of April for the very best of world music from 9.00pm. The programmes will also be available via the BBC iPlayer for seven days after broadcast.

Do you live in Oxfordshire and play world music? If you would like to get in touch with the Global Echoes team please write to globalechoes@bbc.co.uk or use the form below.