LIMASSOL, CY: Stefanos Korkolis is a household name in the Greek music industry, and for a good reason. With 35 years of experience under his belt, Korkolis has become a master at creating and performing music that is both captivating and timeless. To celebrate this milestone, following a number of sold-out concerts in Greece at the Athens Music Hall and the Pallas Theater, Korkolis embarked on a tour of Cyprus. In this venture, he was joined by the great singer, actor, and "The Voice of Greece" judge Panos Mouzourakis, the incredible two-time gold album awardee singer Sofia Manousaki, and our very own TrakArt Pops Orchestra conducted by Aris Antoniades.
Korkolis has become a master at creating and performing music that is both captivating and timeless.
The Cyprus tour consisted of three concerts, the first two of which took place in Nicosia, at the Nicosia Municipal Theater (19/03 and 20/03). The final concert was held at the Pattihio Municipal Theater in Limassol (21/03). The performances were sold-out, with crowds gathering at the theater in Limassol before the concert asking for standing tickets!
From the moment Korkolis stepped on stage, the audience was captivated. The concert began with some orchestral works: arrangements of classical masterworks showcasing Korkolis' virtuosic and emotive piano playing, as well as some of his original new-age music from the 90s. Korkolis' piano playing was electrifying, and his passion for music was evident in every note he played. An extremely memorable moment of the first section of the concert was the Cyprus premiere of his new work Concerto for Bouzouki, Piano, and Orchestra, which featured virtuoso bouzouki soloist George Demetriou. The crowd gave the soloist, the composer, and the orchestra a very big ovation.
The rest of the concert consisted of many of Korkolis' great hits from the late 80's until today, as well as premieres of new songs he wrote very recently, specially arranged by him for orchestra and rock band. He was joined on stage by Panos Mouzourakis and Sofia Manousaki, who each brought their own unique style and energy to the performance. Mouzourakis' deep, soulful voice was the perfect complement to Korkolis' piano, while Manousaki's ethereal vocals added a haunting quality to the music. The concert felt more like a performance at a stadium rather than at a theater, with the crowd often standing, singing loudly, raising their phone-lights, and dancing!
"... Aris, despite his young age, is an impressive and very highly skilled musician, orchestrator, composer, and music director. Having worked with many conductors internationally throughout my career, it is rare to find one that makes me, as a soloist, feel secure on stage. Aris is one of them."
Korkolis praised the TrakArt Pops Orchestra for providing a powerful and emotive backdrop to his piano playing during a brief speech. He also commented on the conductor, saying that "... Aris, despite his young age, is an impressive and very highly skilled musician, orchestrator, composer, and music director. Having worked with many conductors internationally throughout my career, it is rare to find one that makes me, as a soloist, feel secure on stage. Aris is one of them."
When asked about his experience after the concert, Aris replied, "It was such a great honor to collaborate once again with one of my musical heroes, the great Stefanos Korkolis, and the unbelievably talented singer Sofia Manousaki. It was also a huge pleasure to meet and work with the incredibly gifted and charismatic singer/actor Panos Mouzourakis!" He added that "... I feel very humbled by Stefanos' wonderful words about our orchestra and myself. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for entrusting me with such a big project, and for his friendship in general. I hope I did him justice!"
Musicians / Creative Team
The TrakArt Orchestra:
Giorgos Hadjigeorgiou, Andreas Zinonos - Violin I
Konstantina Maimari, Maria Malakouna - Violin II
Konstantinos Christou, Nicolas Papageorgiou - Viola
Doros Zesimos, Marios Stylianou - Violoncello
Nicolas Tryphonos - Double Bass
Konstantinos Makaritis - Flute
Stamatis Solonos - Oboe
Giannis Koudounas - Trumpet
Anastasia Kikel - Trombone
Maria Kramvi - Percussion
For this production, the TrakArt Pops Orchestra was joined by Korkolis' personal band which consisted of a group of incredible musicians from Greece: Achilleas Diamantis and Kostis Pyrenis on guitars, Vasilis Defigos on saxophone and clarinet, Victor Kouloumi on electric bass, Demetris Chorianopoulos on drums, and Savvas Rakintzakis on piano II, accordion, and keyboards. Nicos Gangadis also performed on the guitar on the 19/03 show.
Music Composed / Orchestrated by Stefanos Korkolis
Adaptations for orchestra (for selected works): Savvas Rakintzakis, Aris Antoniades
Sound Design/Live Music Engineering: Andreas Georgallis
Stage Sound Engineer: Nikolas Prokopiou
Light Design: Marios Papadopoulos, Leonid Yazofsky
AutoCue/Projections: Eleana Constantinidou
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