Sounds of Cyprus Press Release – Outdoor Concerts
Posted by estiator at 25 May, at 10 : 03 AM Print
Sounds of Cyprus continues their late spring performances with a series of open-air concerts across New York.
Over the past two weekends, Sounds of Cyprus have graced audiences across the city with traditional Cypriot music and more in a number of free performances. On Saturday May 13th, the group began their day at Astoria’s Athens Square Park performing as part of the Academy of Hellenic Paideia’s annual Timarete Hellenic Art Festival, musically accompanying their folk dance presentation. This was followed by a set at the Queens Night Market in Flushing Meadows Park, where visitors in attendance of their first public weekend got to enjoy the music among hundreds of vendors representing ethnicities from around the globe. The next day, Sounds of Cyprus played their first of a series of stripped-down shows at Astoria’s 31st Avenue Open Streets program. Passersby, families, and those simply enjoying the day took in the sun and sounds of a mix of the band’s traditional repertoire, along with some other
modern tunes. The series of outdoor performances was capped off on Sunday, May 21st with Sounds of Cyprus’ performance at the annual Greek Jewish Festival on the Lower East Side. Prior to playing, the group was introduced by the Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus in New York, Mr. Michalis Firillas. The lively audience danced along at the festival that is touted to be the only one of its kind in the world.
Sounds of Cyprus next outdoor performance is set for Saturday June 18th at Astoria’s 31st
Avenue Open Streets.
Sounds of Cyprus is a Cypriot orchestra co-founded by Elena Chris and Peter Douskalis in New York City. The group performs the traditional music of Cyprus in varying orchestrations and styles that both consciously honor the time period of composition and period instruments as well as perform with a modern approach. Elena Chris, vocalist and front person of the group, sings the traditional songs in the Cypriot dialect of Greek, as well as in Turkish for songs that contain lyrics in both languages. Peter Douskalis, Music Director, plays the laouto, oud, mandolin, and guitar in the group, switching between the proper instrument as needed for the authentic and modern orchestration of the pieces and Alex Tasopoulos plays the violin and the viola. Erikos Vlesmas on the upright bass, Stavros Papadopoulos
on pithkliavli and ney, and Mark Katsaounis on percussion rounded out the performance. The group has been active in the United States, promoting the traditional music of Cyprus to American audiences as well as Greek and Cypriot communities.
Contact Information
SoundsOfCyprusOfficial@gmail.com
+1-347-234-5609
For previous and future video releases
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