Achilles Liarmakopoulos (born 29 August 1985) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

trombonist. He has been a member of the

Canadian Brass The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. , ...

since 2011.

Early life and education

Born in Athens, Greece, Liarmakopoulos started trombone lessons at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory, graduating with Excellent Unanimous and first prize. At the age of 18, Liarmakopoulos performed as a soloist at the Walt Disney Hall as the Grand Prize Winner of the Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition, judged by members of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

. Liarmakopoulos holds degrees from the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

, the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

(class of 2008), the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...

, and the Philippos Nakas Conservatory in his hometown of Athens, Greece. His studies have been supported by merit-based scholarships, Bok Foundation and Milton L. Rock Annual Fellowships and scholarships from the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Alexandros S. Onassis Foundation, and the Greek State Scholarship Foundation.

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

awarded him the Philip Francis Nelson Prize for outstanding musicianship.

Career

In December 2010, Liarmakopoulos won the position of principal trombone of the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he played for one season before joining the Canadian Brass. He has also performed with the

Malaysian Philharmonic The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO; ms, Orkestra Filharmonik Malaysia) is a Malaysian orchestra based in Kuala Lumpur. The orchestra is resident at the Petronas Philharmonic Hall (Dewan Filharmonik Petronas). It is one of Asia's leading ...

Jacksonville Symphony The Jacksonville Symphony is an orchestra based in Jacksonville, Florida. Concert hall As one of a handful of American orchestras with its own dedicated concert hall, the Jacksonville Symphony performs the majority of its programs in the Robe ...

, and

European Union Youth Orchestra The European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) is a youth orchestra with members drawn from the 27 members states of the European Union. Since its foundation in 1976, it has connected music colleges and the professional music world for generations o ...

. In April 2011, he was invited to audition for the Canadian Brass, and since then, he has been their trombonist, touring with the group all over the world. Liarmakopoulos has received awards in the

Yamaha Music Foundation The Yamaha Music Foundation is an organization established in 1966 by the authority of the Japanese Ministry of Education for the purpose of promoting music education and music popularization. It continued a program of music classes begun by Yamaha ...

of Europe and the 2nd Christian Lindberg International Trombone competition. His debut solo album, ''Ástor Piazzolla: Tango Distinto'' was released by

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

in 2011. It is the first full album to feature

Astor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed ''nuevo tango'', incorporating elements from ...

's music on solo trombone. In 2013, Liarmakopoulos released his second solo album titled ''Discoveries'' with new works for trombone and piano, collaborating with piano soloist Amy J. Yang. In January 2013, Liarmakopoulos was invited to play with the Oregon-based genre-bending ensemble

Pink Martini Pink Martini is an American band that was founded in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Group members call it a little orchestra that crosses several styles, such as classical, latin, traditional pop, and jazz. The co-lead v ...

. Since then, he has performed with them regularly all over the world. Liarmakopoulos' third album ''Trombone Atrevido'' with

choro ''Choro'' (, "cry" or "lament"), also popularly called ''chorinho'' ("little cry" or "little lament"), is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a ...

music from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

was released in July 2015 on the ODEG label. The album was produced by guitarist Spiros Exaras and mastered by

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

at the Bernie Grundman Mastering Studios-Los Angeles, CA. In 2017, he released his fourth solo album titled ''Ethereal''. The album features six brand new compositions and five arrangements with an exceptional roster of musicians from all over the world, including Fernando Suarez Paz from Astor Piazzolla's legendary Tango Quintet. Liarmakopoulos is an adjunct trombone professor at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

in New York City. In 2018, he formed Cuatrombon with Jorge Glem on

cuatro Cuatro is Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the number four. Cuatro may also refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), name for two distinct Latin American instruments, one from Puerto Rico (see Cuatro) and the other from Venezuela (see Cuatro) ...

, Manuel Rangel on

maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...

s, and Bam Bam Rodriguez on bass. Together they released three singles of

Venezuelan music Several styles of the traditional music of Venezuela, such as salsa and merengue, are common to its Caribbean neighbors. Perhaps the most typical Venezuelan music is joropo, a rural form which originated in the llanos, or plains. Genres Jorop ...

and, in 2020, an album entitled "Volar."

Premieres

Liarmakopoulos is a supporter of new music and new works for trombone, and has premiered a number of pieces by new composers. Four Trombone concertos and several chamber pieces have been written specifically for him . He premiered ''Dream'' (for trombone solo, string orchestra and harp) by Andrew Cadima at the Curtis Institute of Music in May 2008.

Dedicated works

* Anaklasis - Vagelis Simsiris (1998) *Concerto for Trombone - John Ellis * Dream - Concerto for Trombone and Strings - Andrew Cadima (2008) *Opening of the 2nd Gate - Concerto for Trombone - Joowan Kim (2008) * Indigo for Trombone and Piano - John Ellis (2009) * Tango Paradiso for Trombone and piano - John Ellis (2009) *The bounds of Spring - Taylor Roland (2010) Spiros Exaras *Ypopsia - Andrew Cadima (2010) * Chinese suite - Hua Yang (2010) * Krakatoa for Trombone and Marimba - Stephen Feigenbaum (2010) * Concertino for Trombone and Strings - Dinos Costantinides (2012) * Chorinho do sol - Spiros Exaras (2014) * Distance for Trombone and Trombone Choir - Andrew Cadima (2015) * Sleepwalker for Trombone and harp - Andrew Cadima (2016) * Trombonsillo for Trombone and piano - Carolina Calvache (2016) * Oscuro Silencio - Gabriel Senanes (2017) * Nostos for trombone and harp - Spiros Exaras (2017) *Tango y Milonga - Pablo Estigarribia (2018) *In memoriam Theodore Antoniou for trombone and harp - Michalis Andronikou (2019) *Endlessness for solo trombone - Brandon Ridenour (2019) *The Dwarf Planets - Spiros Exaras (2020) *Dance of Tears - Spiros Exaras (2021) *Life in the City - Spiros Exaras (2022)

Competitions and awards

*''Second Christian Lindberg International Solo Competition:'' Second PrizeCurtis Brass.com :: Recent News
*''International Trombone Festival Robert Marsteller/Conn-Selmer Competition:'' Winner *''International Trombone Festival Solo Competition:'' Winner *''International Trombone Festival Larry Wiehe Competition:'' Winner *''San Francisco Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition:'' Winner *''Pasadena Showcase House Instrumental Competition:'' Grand-prize winner *''2010 Yale School of Music Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition:'' Honorable Mention

Discography

Solo

* '' Tango Distinto – Astor Piazzolla'' (2011,

) * ''Discoveries – New works for trombone and piano'' (2014, ODEG) * '' Trombone Atrevido - Choro music from Brazil'' (2015, ODEG) * Ethereal - (2017, AL) * Obvious - with harpist

Coline-Marie Orliac Coline-Marie Orliac (born 1989) is a harpist from Antibes, France. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she has performed with leading orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic. Musical education Orliac studied at the Nice Conserv ...

- (2018, AL) *Volar - with Cuatrombón - (2020, AL)

EPs

* Chorinho a Tres - with Samuel Adams & Ian O'Sullivan (2009) * Tango y Milonga - with Pablo Estigarribia (2019) * Apasionado - with Jaime Henao (2022)

Singles

* Distance - with The University of Oklahoma Trombone Choir under the direction of Irvin Wagner - Andrew Cadima - 2020 * Transitions - with Andreas Rolandos Theodorou - composed by Carolina Calvache (2020) * Milonga en Re - Astor Piazzolla (2011) * Color Perfume - Fervorchestra conducted by Gabriel Senanes (2019) * Teu Aniversario - Pixinguinha (2019) * Ahora - with Manuel Rangel (2019) * Chorando em Sao Paolo - with Vitor Goncalvez & Sergio Krakowksi * Transitions - with Andreas Rolandos Theodorou - composed by Carolina Calvache (2020) * I will never forget - composed and performed along Spiros Exaras (2019) * Christmas Fantasy - Spiros Exaras (2020) * In Memoriam Theodore Antoniou (2021) * La Flambée Montalbanaise - with Cordeone (2021) * Red Moon of Love - Dimitris Gouzios - with Kostas Avgerinos (2022) * Elegie - Max Peters - with Krista Malerba (2022) * A Nuvem Triste - Alexandros Livitsanos - with Kahlo Quartet

With the Canadian Brass

* ''Canadian Brass Takes Flight'' (2011) * ''Brass Romance'' (2012, single) * ''Carnaval (

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Kinderszenen ' (, "Scenes from Childhood"), Opus number, Op. 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838. History and description Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version. Th ...

and Carnaval)'' (2013) * ''Christmas Time is Here'' (2013) * ''Great Wall of China'' (2014) * ''Perfect Landing (2015)'' *Volks Lieder - Canadian Brass with the Hannover Boy Choir (2019)

Notes

Footnotes

External links

Liarmakopoulos in the Canadian Brass

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liarmakopoulos, Achilles 1985 births Living people 21st-century Greek musicians 21st-century trombonists Musicians from Athens Yale School of Music alumni Curtis Institute of Music alumni San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni Brooklyn College faculty