Hello! It is a pleasure to announce you the collaboration that has just started between Mapamundi Música and Medigrecian.
Which is the objective?
It is to design and make available a versatile offer of high artistry of Greek music, incorporating in addition to the concerts, also activities that allow the public to participate actively in this cultural legacy.
What is Medigrecian?
It is the brand name created by Alkis Zopoglou to encompass his various artistic projects, which range from the Rodopi Ensemble, focusing on traditional Greek Thracian styles, to the Kontrabando Ensemble and its contemporary approach to Balkan music, to the collaboration with oudist Marina Lintou Mochament.
Who is Alkis Zopoglou?
I first met Alkis Zopoglou through his Mediterranean music festival in Switzerland. This is one of his facets, that of festival director.
It was only later that I got to know his artistic side and it was precisely his Rodopi Ensemble that enchanted me: popular Greek music, with a traditional flavour, performed with that differential subtlety of someone who has grown up with this music in his environment as much as with his mother tongue.
Apart from Rodopi Ensemble, Alkis leads several artistic projects which we will report on in this and future communications.
In 2019 Alkis was also appointed as artistic director of the Cosmopolis Festival in Kavala, his hometown.
You can find Alkis’ extended bio below.
Watch a video of each project here below under my signature. More proposals will be announced soon.
RODOPI ENSEMBLE
Click to watch the video:
MARINA LIONTOU MOCHAMENT & ALKIS ZOPOGLOU
KONTRABANDO ENSEMBLE
Click to watch the video:
ALKIS’ ZOPOGLOU EXTENDED BIO
Alkis Zopoglou actively begins his pursuit of music from a very early age. For eight years he systematically takes lessons in Istanbul. There, he studies and meets the styles of performance of various important kanun players of Istanbul, such as Ahmet Meter, Halil Karaduman, Goksel Kartal and Goksel Baktagir. He is a licensee in Byzantine music.
Till today, he has developed an intense artistic activity. He takes part in several cultural events and in discography, with a significant number of prominent composers and bands of Greece (Chronis Aidonidis, Nikos Saragoudas, Stamatis Kraounakis, Haig Yazdjian, Nikos Filippidis, Theo Kapilidis, En Chordais and others). He is also co-operating with many foreign musicians like Theodossi Spassov, Sellahadin Maraqa, Ara Digjian, Kudsi Erguner, Suleiman Erguner, Imane Homsy, Charbel Rouhana, Samir Siblini, Fahrettin Yarkin, Necip Gulses, Hossein Omouni, Kiya and Ziya Tabassian, Ghada Shbeir, Rima Khcheich and others.
He has travelled for concerts in many foreign countries (Germany, France, USA, Canada, Australia, Tasmania, Netherlands, Egypt, Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Mexico, China, Seoul, UAE, Israel, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Oman, Romania, Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ukraine and others). He has represented Greece as a musician and has taught qanun in international qanun meetings in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon Cyprus and Romania.
He is a founding member of the musical ensemble Kontrabando, artistic director of mediterranean music festival in Zurich-Switzerland (mmfestival.ch) and Cosmopolis festival in Kavala-Greece (cosmopolisfestival.gr).