Noel Šuran

Noel Šuran was born in 1986 in Pula. From an early age, he was a listener and observer—not only of music, but also of life, customs and sound. After moving to Lindar, he became a passionate shepherd at the age of 11. This passion, like his passion for music, has remained with him to this day. He obtained a degree in Art Education from the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka and subsequently earned a PhD in Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. In his work, he brings together the roots of Istrian musical and cultural practices, sound processing, and the complex connections between tradition and modernity. As a sopac, kantadur and performer, he studies instruments and the voice, discovering the richness of sound in tree bark and trunks, as well as in objects that are only just becoming instruments. The roles of teacher, ethnologist, researcher and recorder are constantly intertwined in his work. He worked as an art teacher in primary schools, leads numerous art and music workshops, and plays, sings and documents. Today, he works as a curator at the Ethnographic Museum of Istria and the Centre for Intangible Culture of Istria of the Ethnographic Museum of Istria.