Press release – 2013 summer music program

 To hold recitals and concerts of international level, with an emphasis on rising young artists, whose proceeds will be donated to the Philharmonic School of Kefalonia and other Foundations of Kefalonia.

To promote the musical heritage of the Ionian Islands, while simultaneously supporting music education.

To foster collaboration and highlight the work of public-benefit Foundations and Associations of Kefalonia.

This year’s program consists of two concert series: Opera, curated by the renowned Greek-Romanian soprano Marina Krilovitsi, and chamber music coordinated by the internationally acclaimed Greek pianist Vassilis Varvaresos, in cooperation with the Foka-Kosmetatou Foundation. At the heart of summer, from July 4 to 27, distinguished personalities of the global music scene such as the British chamber music group Jigsaw Players (musicians from the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, and their collaborators), the Korean-American Soyeon Kate Lee, and the Israeli Ran Dank, along with many internationally distinguished Greek artists, will gather on the beautiful Ionian island to enchant Greeks and foreigners with their art, as well as offer piano, violin, voice, and flute workshops for the children of Kefalonia.

Soyeon Kate Lee, Ran Dank, and Vassilis Varvaresos, all graduates of the famous Juilliard School in New York and assistants to professor Julian Martin at the same institution, are three young and highly awarded pianists who will share their art and personal experiences with young pianists in a Masterclass held at the Vergotis Cultural Center in Kourkoumelata. The purpose of the Masterclass, which takes place from July 4 to 11, is among other things to strengthen the relationship between Juilliard and the scholarships arising from the “Georgios & Maris Vergotis” endowment based in Kefalonia. The proceeds of the Masterclass, which will conclude with a free concert by the participants on July 11 in Kourkoumelata, will be allocated to support music education provided by the Philharmonics of Kefalonia.

Marina Krilovitsi will also give a Masterclass for young rising artists of the Lyric Theatre, with the participation of the well-known pianist Dimitris Yiakas, from July 18 to 26 at the Philharmonic School of Kefalonia in Argostoli. This workshop will also conclude with a celebratory concert by the participants on July 26 at the theater of the Philharmonic School of Kefalonia.

Beyond the educational importance of the events, there is also purely recreational entertainment in terms of high-level listening. Twelve evenings in July promise an equal number of recitals and concerts, hosted at five different locations across Kefalonia: at the Vergotis Cultural Center in Kourkoumelata, the Municipal Theaters of Argostoli and Lixouri, the Philharmonic School of Kefalonia (Argostoli Conservatory), and the Botanical Garden of the Foka-Kosmetatou Foundation, as well as a free piano workshop for students of Kefalonia at the Korgialenios Library (Argostoli).

The music events program opens on July 6 with a recital at the Municipal Theater of Argostoli by three Juilliard graduates who studied with the “G & M Vergotis” scholarship: Areti Zoula (violin), Regi Alexandros Papas (violin), and Konstantinos Vallianatos (piano). Their program includes works by Moszkowski, Bartók, Ravel, Liszt, and de Sarasate. The proceeds of the concert will be fully contributed to the financial support of the Philharmonic of Kefalonia.

Following:

• On July 9, a piano recital by Soyeon Kate Lee and Ran Dank. Proceeds will support music education provided by the Philharmonics of Kefalonia.
• On July 10, a recital by Areti Zoula (violin) and Vassilis Varvaresos (piano). Proceeds will be fully donated for the financial support of the Philharmonic School of Lixouri.
• On July 11, a concert by the participants of the Masterclass for young pianists.
• On July 13, a recital by the Olympus Trio, namely Ben Capps (cello), Regi Alexandros Papas (violin), and Konstantinos Vallianatos (piano).
• On July 15, 17, and 19, the Jigsaw Players give three concerts, each with a different program. The co-organizer of these three concerts is the Foka-Kosmetatou Foundation.
• The Opera cycle from July 21 to 27 begins with two concerts devoted, according to the event organizers’ tradition, to the Ionian School. After last year’s tribute to D. Lavragas, this year it is the turn of Pavlos Carrer (1829-1896). On July 21, the internationally recognized Greek soloists Irini Karagianni, Giannis Christopoulos, and Sofia Kyanidou, accompanied at the piano by Dimitris Yiakas, present a program with songs and arias from the operas of the Zakynthian composer. On July 24, soprano Irini Karagianni and tenor Giannis Christopoulos, accompanied at the piano by Dimitris Yiakas, curate an evening of Ionian Opera, selecting and singing excerpts from operas and operettas by Pavlos Carrer, Spyros Samaras, Leonidas Alvanas, Giuseppe Verdi, Gaetano Donizetti, Dionysios Lavragas, and Stathis Mastoras.
• On July 26, the recital of the students of Marina Krilovitsi’s workshop takes place.
• The events close festively on July 27 with a concert dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Excerpts from his famous operas “Rigoletto,” “Traviata,” “Don Carlos,” and “Il Corsaro” will be performed by Irina Iordachescu – soprano at the Romanian National Opera – and Dimitris Tiliakos, accompanied at the piano by Dimitris Yiakas.

Ticket presales (with very affordable prices ranging between 5 and 20 euros depending on the occasion) have already begun. More information about the Masterclasses and musical events, as well as the goals of the G&M Vergotis Foundation (Kourkoumelata, tel. 26710 42255), is available on the Foundation’s official website. www.vergottisfoundation.org