A NIGHT OF CINEMATIC MUSIC

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Manolis Neophytou performed his first solo recital at the age of eleven, just before he entered the Moscow’s Central Special State Music School of the ex-Soviet Union, where he studied with Professor Rudolf Kehrer. Manolis, during the period 1996-2002 studied at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, with scholarship from Nicolas Economou Foundation. He also studied in Ecole Normale in Paris with a scholarship from the Albert Roussel Foundation. In 2004, he has obtained the Masters in Piano Performance from the University of London with scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece. Manolis represented Cyprus at the Eurovision Classical Contests in Brussels (1992), Warsaw (1994) and Lisbon (1996), after winning the Cyprus National Competitions.

He received several prizes in international piano competitions: 4th Prize at Senigallia International Piano Competition (Italy, 1994), 1st Prize at the Inter-Mediterranean Music Festival (Palermo, Italy, 1995), and 2nd Prize at the Thimis Piano Competition (Megaron Mousikis, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2002). His performance activities include solo recitals and concerts in Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, Italy, Hungary, France, Ireland, U.K., Korea, South Africa and Cyprus. He performed, as a soloist, with many orchestras, as the State Orchestra of Cyprus, the State Orchestra of Thessaloniki, the Symphonic State Orchestra of Rostov (Russia) and other. He taught in master classes in Cyprus and at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Homage to Greek Music is the title of his first CD and received a very good review from Mikis Theodorakis. He has also written music for the documentary film by Alessia de Ninno, which received a prize from the NFT (National Film Theatre) of London. He is teaching piano in European University of Cyprus and in the state music school in Limassol and Paphos. His recent performances include concerts in USA -University of Maine, London and Zurich. His future performances include concerts in Athens, Prague and Zurich.

Biography — Nikolas Efthymiou

Being attracted to the game of sound from a very early age Nikolas Efthymiou found in the viola an inexhaustible pool of possibilities to form and transform his dreams. He started studying the violin with Cypriot violinist Andreas Nikolaou at Cyprus Odeon and Trinity College which he concluded at the age of 14. Further studies were undertaken in Germany on violin and viola with Stelios Kafantaris, M.Speerman, Frank Strauch, and John Kinsella. During his studies in Hochschule fuer Musik Weimar he participated in Hochschulorchester Weimar and cooperated with Weimar Staatscapelle, and Jenaer Philarmonie. Solo recitals in Spain, Germany, France, Serbia, Greece and Cyprus. He has also taken part in several music workshops and festivals like Bad Sobernheim Musik academy, Weimar Sommerakademie, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Detmold Musikhochschule – Meisterkurse and he studied in the classes of known musicians like T.Zehetmair, V.Klimov, T.Brandis, W.Christ, E.Krueger,Cr. Euler, L.Matczynsky. In 2007 Nikolas Efthymiou forms the experi- mental ‘’Ensemble Casual’’ which seeks to bridge several music periods and styles ranging from Baroque to Tango and Jazz. He has participated as a soloist or as chamber music musician in prestigious festivals in Cyprus like Cypria, Paphos2017, Faneromeni ans others. Nikolas Efthymiou is active as Pedagogue in Cyprus University’s Music Advancement Program, in Youth Orchestra’s scholarship program for young soloist, as well as in Music-Gymnasiums/Lyceums.