Woodwind Quintet Concert ‘A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS’

The classical music concert series ‘Technopolis 20 Classics’ are closing the year of 2022 with a Woodwind Quintet Concert, a week before Christmas, at Markideio Theatre in Paphos, on Sunday, 18th of December 2022, at 15:00.

Five young musicians reunite in one of the most important chamber music form for winds: the woodwind quintet. Their love for music and their passion to promote classical music to a larger audience in Cyprus, brings them together with a very interesting programme:

P.I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), ‘March’ from The Nutcracker Suite for wind quintet

P. Taffanel (1844-1908), Wind Quintet in G minor, I. Allegro con moto & II. Andante

G. Fauré(1845-1924), Pavane

J. Ibert(1890-1962), Trois Pièces Brèves

A. Souris (1899-1970), Rengaines

D. Shostakovich (1906-1975), Waltz No.2

The quintet is formed by Eva Stavrou (flute), Natalie Neophytou (oboe), Christiana Thalassinou (clarinet), Mavroudes Troullos (bassoon) and Melissa Danas (French horn).

A Christmas concert not to be missed with some festive surprises...!

Entrance: €20 / €7 students

Reservations are necessary.

Tickets available:

- Technopolis 20 art centre. Call for opening hours

- Online banking (email us at info@technopolis20.com for details)

Information: 70002420

Supporter: Municipality of Paphos

Hospitality Sponsor: Annabelle Hotel

Media Sponsor: Cyprus Mail

Sponsor: Photo Larko

A few words about the musicians:

Eva Stavrou began studying piano and flute in Cyprus. She graduated in 2009 with distinction from the Music School of Nicosia (Cyprus), and then progressed to higher education at the Université Lumière Lyon 2 and at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Lyon. She continued her studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels receiving a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree with Distinction in Flute and Piccolo.

A special interest in contemporary music has led Stavrou to work with a variety of composers and to participate in music workshops and festivals such as the Escape Art Lab in Romania (2018), the New Music Week in Rome (2019), the Time of Music in Finland (2019) and in Erasmus+ programmes both in Portugal and Cyprus, learning from distinguished composers like Beat Furrer, Doina Rotaru and Kaija Saariaho. Stavrou has also taken part in orchestras and chamber music groups in Cyprus, Greece, the UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy and Finland.

Eva strongly believes in the importance of performers getting involved in the process of music composition. She often collaborates with composers such as Brice Catherin, Faidros Kavallaris and others, for the creation of new pieces and to promote contemporary music in Cyprus. Plektó duet (Eva Stavrou-flute, Natasa Hadjiandreou-percussions) aims to promote the contemporary repertory for flute and percussions. Her duet with the Greek pianist Thalia Papadopoulou, έtha duet, was funded last year by the i-portunus programme in order to work with the composers Philippe Hurel (France), Diana Rotaru (Romania) and Minas Borboudakis (Germany).

Eva is also involved in interdisciplinary projects and has worked with the DanceHouse Lefkosia (No_body festival 2020), the Cyprus Theatre Organization and the Onassis Stegi (Onassis Foundation).

Since September 2017 Stavrou lives in Cyprus, currently teaching flute at the Cyprus Music Schools and at the Windcraft Music Centre, aiming at imparting to her students a love for the Arts and at introducing them to contemporary music.

Born in 1991 in Cyprus, Natalie Neophytou graduated in 2015 with First Class Honours from the Royal Academy of Music in London where she gained a postgraduate scholarship to study oboe with Melanie Ragge and cor anglais with Sue Bohling. First prize winner of the ‘Leila Oboe Prize’, Natalie began her music studies from an early age studying piano, oboe and theory in Cyprus. Before attending the Royal Academy, she completed her bachelor’s degree in oboe performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she studied with Richard Simpson, David Walter, Gordon Hunt and Nicholas Daniel. During her studies, Natalie has worked with distinguished conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Gianandrea Noseda, Michael Tilson Thomas, Vladimir Jurowski and Takuo Yuasa. She has attended numerous masterclasses with well-known oboists including Thomas Intermuler at the Oboe Summer Course in Corfu and Jean Louis Capezzali during the Summer Music Academy at Sion in Switzerland.

As a freelance performer Natalie is an extra player of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra where she very often performs and has also worked with other professional orchestras like the National Radio Orchestra (ERT) in Athens, Orion Orchestra, Aleph Chamber Orchestra and Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra in London. Since 2016, Natalie works as an oboe teacher at the European University and the Music Gymnasium and High schools of Cyprus. She is a proud winner of the ‘Stelios BiCommunal Award 2016 and 2017’ received from the ‘Stelios Philanthropic Foundation’ for creating the new establish Cyprus Chamber Orchestra (CCO), where she is the Artistic Director and principal oboe. In May 2017, she collaborated with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra during the concert #UnitedByMusic, a project where the CCO artists played side by side with the Berlin Philharmonic artists as part of the Paphos2017.

The Cypriot clarinetist, Christiana Thalassinou, performed as a soloist in the great Musikverein Hall in Vienna, in 2014. After Graduating with Distinction from the Vienna Konservatorium in 2017 (class of Lubomir Gospotinov), she pursued with her postgraduate studies in London. In 2018 she graduated from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance for Master’s of Music with Honors (Clarinet class of Joan Enric Lluna and Paolo de Gaspari - Bass Clarinet). In 2021, she attained a specialized Master’s of Music in Bass Clarinet Performance, from ARTS2, École supérieure des Arts in Belgium, class of Prof. Paolo de Gaspari. Christiana had the opportunity to work with various famous clarinetists and professionals, among them Michael Whight (London Philharmonic Orchestra – LPO), Liliana Stephanova, Severine Payet, Kosmas Papadopoulos (Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra), as well as Frank van den Brink (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra) and Reinhard Wieser (Wiener Philharmoniker). She participated in concerts with the Max Steiner Orchester, the Metropolitan Kammerorchester Wien, the Austrolatino Orchestra, Collegium Musikum Orchester Ensemble Retro Wien, Prayner Konservatorium Orchester (principal clarinetist), Vienna Young Artist Orchester, Symphonica Unanima, London International Sinfonia, Shapeshifters Orchestra (principal clarinetist) and Trinity Laban Symphony Orchestra. She is the principal clarinetist, on a permanent basis, of Orpheus Kammerorchester Wien (since 2013-today) as well as the Wiener Kaiser Orchester (since 2019 – today), the Wiener Virtuosos Orchestra (2021 – today) and the clarinetist of Opéra de Baugé Orchestra (since 2016-today). Since 2018 Christiana teaches at the Schule für Byzantinische und Traditionelle Musik der Metropolis von Austria, the Musisches Zentrum Wien, and Le Conservatoire Wien. She appeared as a soloist and with ensembles in various festivals and concerts in Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Algeria, Greece, Germany, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Austria in famous concert halls such as St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Vienna), Musikverein (Vienna), Konzerthaus (Vienna), St John’s Smith Square (London), Liederhalle (Stuttgart), Gasteig (Munich), Brucknerhaus (Linz).

https://www.christianathalassinou.com/

Mavroudes Troullos (b.1992) is a highly trained bassoonist who stands out for his musical sensitivity and maturity. He was born into a family of musicians.

He has been awarded 1st Prize in the ''Amsterdam Grand Prize Virtuoso'' International Music Competition 2019 (Netherlands), 1st Prize in the ''Paris Grand Prize Virtuoso'' International Music Competition 2019 (France), the 1st Prize in the ''London Grand Prize Virtuoso'' International Music Competition 2019 (UK), the 2nd Prize in the ''North International Music Competition'' 2018 (Sweden), the ''Horlait-Dapsens Award'' 2018 (Belgium), and has been named ''Ambassador of the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel'' 2018. Those awards led him to give recitals in big concert halls such as the Amphitheater of the Philharmonie in Paris, the Elgar Room of the Royal Albert Hall and the Kleine Zaal of Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

He has appeared as a soloist with the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Koninklijke Muziekkapel van de Gidsen. Mavroudes had been 2nd Principal Bassoonist at the Greek National Opera at the age of 21. He has also served as a substitute musician at the Kamerata Armonia Atenea Orchestra, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Belgian National Orchestra, and the Royal Theater of La Monnaie.

He has been Teacher of Bassoon and Chamber Music at the Gemeentelijke Academie voor Muziek, Woord en Dans Sint-Pieters Woluwe Brussels since 2018. His professional experience includes radio recordings in Germany, Cyprus and Belgium.

Mavroudes Troullos has a Diploma in bassoon from the Athens Conservatory of Music and Drama (instructor: G. Faroungias), a Bachelor degree from the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater, Leipzig (instructor: J.M. Thome) and a Master’s degree from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel (instructor: L. Loubry). Recently he has been accepted as a PhD Researcher in the Arts at the LUCA School of Arts in collaboration with the KU Leuven.

Mavroudes Troullos' recital partners are Lily Maisky - Piano and Roberta Brambilla – Harp

https://www.mavroudestroullos.com/

Melissa Danas is a widely sought-after horn player with a successful career as an international performer, performing with various orchestras and innovative ensembles across the world. She was born in New York, where she also studied and performed in New York’s diverse freelance scene. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and a Master’s degree from Mannes, The New School for Music, where she studied with Erik Ralske (Principal Horn, The Metropolitan Opera) at the Juilliard School. Upon receiving her Master’s degree, she won an audition with the Sarajevo Philharmonic, where she played 2nd horn from 2017-2018. In early 2018, she left her position in Sarajevo after winning a Fulbright Award to study in Vienna, which is considered to be one of the most widely recognized and prestigious scholarships in the world. She was accepted to the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien, where she studied Vienna horn with Thomas Jöbstl (Wiener Philharmoniker). Melissa currently holds a section horn position with the Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein and the Akademiestelle with the Grafenegg Festival Orchestra, and has also made guest appearances with various orchestras around the world. She actively works with living composers and has had pieces written for her as solo horn. As a young artist, she is both dedicated to preserving the past and forging the future of classical music.

In addition to her extensive freelance career as a guest with various orchestras, she has cultivated a career as an entrepreneur and curates her own projects. Growing up and studying in New York taught her to appreciate the importance of diversity, entrepreneurship, and innovation in music, and these pillars shape her principles as an artist.

https://melissa-danas.com/