Tuesday 8 April 2008, Terra Santa Rest Home, Larnaka, 10:00
Wednesday 9 April 2008, Kalaydjian Foundation, Lefkosia, 11:00
Thursday 10 April 2008, Pattichion Old People’s Activity Home, Lemesos, 11:00
Monday 14 April 2008, Central Prison, Lefkosia, 10:30
Tuesday 15 April 2008, Christos Stelios Ioannou Foundation, Lefkosia, 11:00
Wednesday 16 April 2008, Αkaki Primary School Event Hall, 20:00
Thursday 17 April 2008, Makarios Hospital, Lefkosia, 11:00
Friday 18 April 2008, “Olympus” Community Hall, Pelendri, 20:00
Soloists: Sona Gargaloyan (soprano), Yiannis Miralis (alto saxophone)
Music Direction: Spiros Pisinos
Programme:
L. Berio: Folk Songs for mezzo soprano and seven instruments
J. Ibert: Concertino da Camera for alto saxophone
Entrance Free
Sona Gargaloyan was born in Armenia’s Capital, Yerevan. She studied at the Komitas State Conservatoirein the class of the famous soprano Professor Gohar Gasparian obtaining the Master Diploma with distinction. Following decision by the Examination Committee she was named “Professor and Opera and Concert Soloist”. She sang in concerts and recitals at the Opera and Ballet Theatre of Armenia under the direction of Vigen Tchartchoglian. She interpreted principal roles in Verdi’s La Traviata and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor under the direction of Aram Katanian. She took part in the Giovanni Viotti Classical Song Contest in Vercelli, Italy in 1997. In 2003 she took part in the Celebration Concert for Cyprus’ Accession to the European Union. In December 2005 she presented the Six Elizabethan Songs of Domenico Argento and the Folk Songs of Luciano Berio with the Ensemble Philharmonia under the direction of Spiros Pisinos. In June 2006 she represented Cyprus with the same Orchestra in a concert in Paris as part of the “Cyprus Month” cultural events organised by UNESCO. She collaborated repeatedly with the Cyprus State Orchestra, including a performance at the inauguration ceremony for the re-opening of the Lefkosia Municipal Theatre in March 2006, where she interpreted the role of Gilda at Verdi’s Rigoletto in collaboration with Alexandra Papatziakou, Sergio Panayia, Kyros Patsalides, Costas Sfiris and maestro Spiros Pisinos. Her most recent collaboration with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra was in January 2007 in the concert series Tribute to Armenia under maestro Haig Utidjian. She has also given concerts in Germany, Italy and Greece.
Yiannis Miralis is Assistant Professor of Music Education and Saxophone and Chair of the Department of Arts at Cyprus College. He holds degrees from Michigan State University (PhD), Bowling Green State University (MM) and Lawrence University (BM), where he was a Fulbright scholar. His primary saxophone teachers were Steve Jordheim, John Sampen and Joe Lulloff. As the first Cypriot classical saxophonist Miralis has given numerous solo and chamber performances in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, and the USA. He was the first saxophone soloist with the Cyprus State Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Ayis Ioannides. He also appeared as soloist with the Macedonian Saxophone Quartet and the Ensemble Philharmonia under the direction of Spiros Pisinos. He is a member of the Macedonian Saxophone Quartet with which they performed at the Cultural Olympiad of Athens 2004 and at a five-concert tour of Switzerland with the Orchestre de Chambre de Neuchâtel. As a member of the acclaimed Transcontinental Saxophone Quartet (TSQ) he won a number of chamber music competitions in the USA. Together they have given hundreds of performances in the USA and Europe. They have also performed at the renowned Ravenna Music Festival in Italy and they appeared as soloists with the Royal Belgian Air Force Band in Minneapolis. Their first CD “Mountain Roads,” (Albany Records) received outstanding reviews. Miralis has a genuine interest in expanding the saxophone repertoire and has commissioned numerous saxophone works by such composers as J. Harbison, B. Rands, D. Maslanka, L. Bell, R. Borel, Ph. Dymiotis, G. Karvellos, C. Stylianou, H. Sofocleous. He has given world premieres of a number of these works in Chicago, Appleton and Lefkosia. Mr Miralis has taught at the University of Cyprus, ARTE Music Academy, University of Windsor in Canada, Flint Institute of Music and Michigan State University Community CyYSO Academy. From 2001-2004 he served as Assistant Professor of Saxophone and Music Education at the Lionel Hampton School of Music in the USA. He is a founding member of the Hellenic Saxophone Association and president of the Cypriot Saxophone Association Saxophonia.
Spiros Pisinos was appointed conductor and artistic director of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra in 2005. He has conducted London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, Mariinsky Young Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Felice Opera Orchestra, the West Australia Symphony, the Nuremberg Symphony, the Orchestre National de Montpellier, at Dusseldorf’s Deutsche Oper am Rhein and at the Nationaltheater Mannheim. He is the founder and director of the Ensemble Philharmonia, composed by professional Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot and other European accomplished musicians. Spiros Pisinos worked as cover conductor at the New York Philharmonic and Orchestre National de France both under Kurt Masur. A recipient of the Leventis Foundation scholarship, Spiros Pisinos studied orchestral conducting at the Vienna Conservatory.
