The Board

Adelina Dehelean

“I`m one of the first organizers of the guitar lessons at Hub, facilitator and enabler of what became MwS. Like many of our members, I was a newcomer in Eindhoven, looking for a place to belong to, and something to contribute to. I still feel towards MwS as my family, and most of my closest friends are old timers in the community. Currently I am chairman of the association, so I am dealing with the formalities and official aspects of MwS as an association. However I place great value on the informal spirit of our community and its emergent reinventing nature. I am focused on the future, continuity and sustainability of MwS, as well as preserving our values.” Adelina Dehelean

Mohsen Mehrafrouz

“Being a Stranger is in my blood! It all started with joining one of the Thursday jamming sessions / guitar lessons at the Hub and I never stopped joining ever since. MwS has been my second and at times first home in Eindhoven. I’ve always valued and adored the solidarity of our community despite the vast musical and cultural diversities and as a member I feel responsible to promote and preserve that quality. The first ideas of MwS as an association formed during a brain storming with strangers in my living room and to the day as a board member my goal is to make sure that more and more musicians and music lovers can benefit from this beautiful community. ” Mohsen Mehrafrouz

Odilia Carmen

“A nomad at heart, embracing all cultures and people, I thrive in colourful societies. Own a bachelor degree in Law and another in Arts & Music Interpretation. Played more of a background role in the building of the community, at first as a vocal coach for some of the strangers, later on joining the stage, bringing people together in different projects and concerts, to encourage creativity and connection on all levels. Took a step forward and joined the board with the hope of strengthening and supporting the organization, and the individuals as part of it, in understanding and achieving their dreams. Also in charge of MWS finances.” Odilia Carmen

Hammond Ho

“I have been exploring my new found hobby as a solo singer since 2013 mainly thanks to my friends’ encouragement. Since then it has been a thrill ride full of new discoveries about myself especially the musical side. I joined MWS in 2017 and felt right at home quickly thanks to our friendly members. I’m still touched by the fact that as a singer who doesn’t play any instrument like me could be accepted in such an amazing group of talented musicians. I’m proud to be part of this group of warm, welcoming, (sometimes crazy) bunch of music loving folks. Now I have joined the board to do my part of contribution, focusing on Media.” Hammond Ho

Raluca Dumitrescu

“I am an expat from Romania, living in Eindhoven since 2011. Back home, I was always connected to music, through singing and dancing. After arriving in Eindhoven, I started looking for people who would share this connection and in 2015 I was lucky enough to find MwS and to join this AMAZING musical group that gave me the opportunity to find people interested in doing music and to sing on stage again. Few years later I joined the events team and then recently became a member of the board, i.e. payback time, so I can give back what Music with strangers has offered me all these years.” Raluca Dumitrescu

Events & Tech Team

Board Member

Sjaak Thomassen

“I`m one of the few dutchies in this community. I first came when this ‘thing` was announced as guitar lessons years ago. I stuck around to watch (and help) it grow into the community, or more the huge family, it is today. I`m a guitarist myself and love meeting new people and making music together. Next to that, I tend to help out with many things in this association, the most rewarding of which for me is organizing concerts and events all over the city, giving a stage to many inspiring new musical collaborations. ” Sjaak Thomassen

Music with Strangers organizes 10 to 15 public events per year. Our concerts are an important means to give our members a stage and facilitate the many musical collaborations come to expression. But luckily it also has always been appreciated by large groups of visitors. We have a number of venues we often work with, like Popei and Altstadt, but are always on the look for new interesting places in the city. Our events team organizes all events, trying to get a good balance throughout the year on different types of events, making sure there`s something for all kinds of initiatives in different styles and themes. We typically assign one committee member as events manager per event, but you can always contact us via the common email : events@musicwithstrangers.com
We run most of our productions ourselves. For that we have a tech team to help out with audio & video support (live & recording). Although experience for that is preferred, we do provide some internal workshops for sharing knowledge. We have been gradually investing in some gear ourselves, but can also rely on gear from some of our members in case the venue does not provide it.