FAMILY CONCERT: A TOY SYMPHONY

PROGRAMME:

A completely unusual evening at the Kalamata Dance Megaron where games meet music and an imaginary conductor can ruin everything. Whistles, kazoos, a nightingale, a cuckoo, a rookie, a little boy, elephants and unusual dreams converse with the music of Joseph Haydn and Stathis Giftakis.

With narration in Greek.

formerly attributed to:

JOSEPH HAYDN (1732–1809): Toy Symphony (ca. 1760)

I. Allegro

II. Menuetto – Trio

III. Finale: Allegro

STATHIS GIFTAKIS (b. 1967): “A not so ordinary day” (2008)

A musical tale for children’s orchestra

Phaedra Giannelou conductor

Lilly Triantari narration

Panagiotis Adam scenography

Antonios Maziotis violin & string orchestra pedagogy

Sophia Charlotte Anagnostou viola & string orchestra pedagogy

ARTIST RÉSUMÉS:

Phaedra Giannelou was born in Athens and graduated with honours from both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Orchestral Conducting at the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University, under the supervision of Professor M. Logiadis. In 2012, she was declared a PhD Candidate at the same department.

She has conducted symphony orchestras in the USA, Chile, Russia, and almost throughout Europe, and has attended masterclasses with internationally renowned conductors such as B. Haitink, K. Masur, J. Panula, N. Järvi, among others.

She has also collaborated with ensembles and institutions including the Athens State Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Orchestra, Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Colours, Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra, Greek Composers Union, Athens Concert Hall, Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Athens Festival, Kyklos Ensemble, and Canadian Brass.

In 2013, she was awarded second prize (with first prize not awarded) at the “S. Michaelides” International Conducting Competition organized by the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, and in 2020, she completed the Global Leaders Program, an international program in collaboration with nine leading U.S. universities, earning a postgraduate degree in Social Entrepreneurship and Cultural Management.

Lilly Triantari came into this world with a cheerful disposition on an autumn Sunday… tag, you’re it! She played, ran, climbed trees, and hid in the water square for many years. Then she studied dance at the National School of Dance (K.S.O.T.), flew away to the Laban Centre of Movement and Dance, and slid back to K.S.O.T. from where she graduated… tag, you’re it! In 1989, she and her friends set out for a city in the south. A city between the sea and the mountains with somewhat sleepy people. She worked at the Municipal Dance School of Kalamata. She taught young and older students creative movement, music and movement education, and contemporary dance. In 2006, she began walking the path of folk tales. Walking this path, she has shared her stories in secret and open gardens, in museums and schools, on rooftops and in barns, in small and slightly larger theatres, in cafes and orchards, on buses, by fireplaces, by rivers, and at celebrations under the stars.

If she were not a human, she would want to be a bird.

If she were not a bird, she would want to be a dream.

If she were not a dream, she would want to be a wish… tag, you’re free!

Stathis Giftakis is a Greek composer, pianist, and music educator. He studied piano with Dora Bakopoulou, graduating with distinction, and composition with Theodore Antoniou, receiving a diploma with first prize. His works have been performed in Greece and internationally, including in France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Russia, Belgium, the United States, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, and Turkey, by leading ensembles and orchestras. His compositions have received awards in international competitions and have been featured in contemporary music workshops and major festivals, including the Hellenic Festival, the International Dance Festival of Kalamata, and the International Music Theatre Festival of Volos. Stathis has served as Artistic Director of the Kalamata Municipal Conservatory (2003–2009 and since 2015) and, since 2017, of the Kalamata International Choir Competition and Festival. He teaches piano and advanced music theory, is a founding member of the Kalamata International Music Days, and lives in Kalamata.

Antonios Maziotis began his violin lessons at the age of seven and continued his studies at the Department of Music Science and Art at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki. In 2011, he won the third prize with his string quartet in a chamber music competition organised by the same department. In the same year, he studied as an Erasmus student at the University of Music in Mainz, Germany. In 2014, he continued his studies at the Anton Bruckner University of Music in Linz, Austria, specialising in both violin pedagogy and instrumental teaching in groups. He appears regularly in solo recitals and chamber music concerts in Greece and abroad. Since 2021, he has been a violin tutor at the Music High School and the Municipal Conservatory, both in Kalamata.

Sophia Charlotte Anagnostou was born in King’s Lynn, UK, but raised in Volos, Greece. She started her music studies at the age of five and in 2003 she obtained a harmony degree with distinction. She was a founder member of the Volos Youth Symphony Orchestra and took part in many orchestras and music ensembles thereafter in London, Cologne, Antwerp, Versailles, Rome, Venice amongst others, whilst playing violin or viola. She commenced her university studies in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2004 and transferred to Birmingham Conservatoire two years later studying with Erik Houston. Under the guidance of Kate Fawcett and Margaret Faultless at Birmingham Conservatoire she completed a Postgraduate Certificate in baroque violin. She continued her Master of Performance at the Royal College of Music, studying with Adrian Butterfield and Lucy Russell, then finished her studies with Mayumi Hirasaki at Mozarteum in Salzburg. She is currently teaching at the Kalamata Music High School and Municipal Conservatoire.