Vassiliki Papageorgiou
Vassiliki Papageorgiou was born in Athens to a family originating from Smyrna and Lesbos. She studied biology but soon she devoted herself to her love for music and song. Tracing her musical roots she studied the oral folksinging tradition of Greece by accompanying Vangelis Soukas's clarinet in ''panigyria'' (traditional musical festivities) throughout the countryside. Finally Vassiliki developed a deep sensitivity for the traditional instruments and sounds of Asia Minor, the Aegean and the Mediterranean Sea while singing in Greek, Spanish and Italian with various groups throughout Greece.
In 1993 she arrived for the first time in Istanbul with Thesia Panagiotou and Kostas Ferris's ''Kompania Rebetiko'' group, where she interpreted songs of the Rebetiko tradition. She has been living in Istanbul ever since.
Her knowledge of Greek music and her voice rich with Aegean intonations have been the catalyst and inspiration for fusing the younger Turkish musicians of the Classical Bosphorus orchestra and Greek musicians into forming the experimental ensemble of Contemporary Bosphorus.
Since 1994, Vassiliki has been accompanied in recordings and in concerts by three instruments, the ney, the kemenche (lyre of Istanbul) and the cello whose relationship to the human voice lies within the heart of the mystical sphere of Turkey. This association has enriched her voice endowing it with unique textures and harmonics.
Furthermore, her experience into the mystical world of Turkey through the sounds of the Bağlama (saz- long-necked lute), kemenche and the ney have given her an insight into the Turkish reality where her hold of the Turkish language alone would not have sufficed.
Eventually Vassiliki entered the realm of poetic writing . The turning point occurred in 1996 when she wrote the poems for her first solo album "Last Boat From Halki" for which Hasan Esen composed the music.
More recordings and albums were released with her singing her lyrics on compositions by Turkish and Greek composers such as "The Silk Road" (1998) and "Beyond the Bosphorus" (2003). In 2004 she cooperated with the Turkish group "Gündoğarken" both interpreting and writing Greek lyrics for their songs to produce an album called "Evening Sky Over The City" which was released simultaneously in Greece and in Turkey.
In 2010 Vassiliki recorded the album "Ellinotourkika" composed of a combination of beloved songs of both countries in which she lives and works. The album was released in Greece by LYRA Music and then in Turkey in 2013 by KALAN Music.
She has toured around Greece, Turkey, Holland, France, Belgium and Germany. Placing great importance on the riches and subtleties of the lyrics, Vassiliki has sung in Greek and Turkish at renowned cultural centres making her own contribution to an insightful exchange between the two cultures.
Furthermore, Vassiliki apart from writing she also translates poetry. The "Indictus" publishing house released in 2008 her translation into Greek from the French text of Rainer Maria Rilke's poem "The Book of Poverty and Death". The same year some of her poems were included in a literature anthology issued by the "Metaihmio" publishers under the title "Constantinople, A City in Literature".
In May 2010 she was invited to take part in the International Poetry Festival of Istanbul - within the events of "Istanbul 2010, European Capital of Culture" - with her poems about Istanbul.
In 2014 she created the group “Burgaz’dan sonra Heybeli” (“After Burgaz Heybeli”) referring to the Princess Islands of Istanbul where she had lived for several years. The group consists of young talented Turkish musicians who also live on the islands and who eagerly learned the traditional Greek repertoire of Istanbul and Smyrna. They accompany Vassiliki with their shantour, tanbur, violin, oud and percussion in numerous stages reviving this old musical tradition of Turkey. She also performs with young Greek Istanbul-based musicians and together they pay tribute the multi-cultural songs of the renowned Istanbul-born singer Roza Eskenazy, singing them in Greek, Turkish and Armenian.
Since 2014 she also collaborates with the Greek ancient lyre composer and performer Aliki Markantonatou, accompanying her with her mandolin and lyrical singing in a musical journey from Antiquity to the traditional songs of the Aegean sea and the coasts of Asia Minor, up to their own genuine compositions on her poetry and the poetry of Turkish poet Hasan Erkek.
In July 2016 Vassiliki and Aliki recorded the album “The Chelys Songs”, a greek-turkish collaboration with distinguished Turkish musicians Derya Türkan and Oğuz Büyükberber produced by ADA Music in Turkey.
Vassiliki has toured around Greece, Turkey, Holland, France, Belgium and Germany. Placing great importance on the welth and subtleties of the lyrics, Vassiliki has sung in Greek and Turkish at renowned cultural centres making her own contribution to an insightful exchange between the two cultures.
Aliki Markantonatou
Aliki is a Greek artist and music teacher who lives in Athens. She accomplished her musical studies on the Piano, Counterpoint and Opera at the National Music Academy.She came across the Ancient Greek Lyre at 2004, while she was exploring the string instruments. Lyre doesn’t exist anymore, and is a product that was created, after many years of research from a handful of brave luthiers. One of them is Nikolaos Bras, who created Aliki's Lyre. Aliki studied the ancient musical fragments, and she developed a personal way of playing. Techniques borrowed form the Harp, the Krar or the Kanun are woven into her style. She combines the Lyre with many different instruments such as the wooden flutes, the Sitar, the Lyre from Black Sea, Cretan Lyre, Dub Music etc. Aliki summons the lyrical Sapphic spirit with her melodies, and she also takes inspiration from the Asia Minor, Byzantine music, Indian music etc. She performed with the group Ghi & Thalassa all around Greece (2007-2012). They also recorded along with the word awarded Byzantine singer Nektaria Karantzi, a CD with Xmas carols. In 2013 she did the music for Acropolis Reconstruction documentary film and in 2014, along with Pan Kaperneka, the music for Emery Tales documentary film. In 2013 she composed and recorded the album Awakening the Muse with the Lyre 'n' Rhapsody band. In 2014 the same band recorded the album Kirke, with compositions from all members of the group. In 2015 Lyre 'n' Rhapsody recorded the album Aegean, with world awarded, ancient Chinese music, musicians, Chang Jing and Chang Di. The album is released in China and Taiwan, and at Itunes, in July 2016. In August 2016 she toured in Shanghai with the Aegean team, performing the music of their album She has also recorded a new album Chely's Songs with Vassiliki Papageorgiou, Deria Turcan-Kemence, Oguz Buyukberber- Bass Clarinet and Chrysostomos Boukalis- Double Bass, at Ada Studios in Istanbul, to be released in January 2017. Since February 2016 she started recording a solo album, based on Lyre techniques and voice. In July 2016 with Zafiro Hatzifotiou, and Chrysostomos Boukalis they presented Leda and Swan, songs for lyre, double bass and voices at Ecole Francaise d' Athenes for the 9th Moisa International Conference.
Studies in Music
1. Classical Harmony Diploma/teacher Dimitris Kapsomenos (1990)
2. Piano Diploma/teachers E. Kouvaritakis (1992), repertoire Efi Agrafioti(1994)
3. Counterpoint Diploma/teacher Haris Xanthoudakis (1992)
4. Gamelan Orchestra Scholarship from STSI University, Bali Indonesia (1997)
5. Opera Diploma/teacher Kostas Iliopoulos (2006)
6. Byzantine Musi Introductory classes/teacher Nektaria Karantzi (2011), Loukia Konstandatou (2014-16)
Seminars in Music
Electronic Music, Choir Teaching, Meditation Music, Introduction in Voicing Technique and more
Other Studies
University of Athens, 2 years on Pedagogies
Seminars on Psychology with Mona Konstantinidou, Ioanna Golfinopoulou and more
Flamenco Dance