Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
n composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. He is the co-founder and
artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...
of
IHOS Music Theatre and Opera
IHOS Music Theatre and Opera is a Tasmanian opera company was established in Hobart in 1990, by composer and artistic director Constantine Koukias, and production director Werner Ihlenfeld to create original music-theatre and opera works.
Maj ...
, which was established in 1990 in Tasmania's capital city, Hobart.
Koukias's works range from large-scale music theatre and opera to mobile installation art events. His atmospheric compositions are characterised by mesmerising temporal, spatial and production designs, while his recent works exhibit eastern influences. His
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
The Divine Kiss
''The Divine Kiss — The Evil is Always and Everywhere'' is an opera by Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. The opera explores ...
'', ''
Tesla – Lightning in His Hand
''Tesla – Lightning in His Hand'' is a large-scale opera about Serbian American engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), composed by Constantine Koukias, a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, wher ...
'' and ''The Barbarians''. His music theatre works include ''ICON'', ''Kimisis – Falling Asleep'', ''Borders'', ''Orfeo'', ''Rapture – Sonic Taxi Performance'', ''Schwa – The Neutral Vowel'', ''Antigone'' and ''The Da Ponte Project''.
Koukias was commissioned in 1993 by the Sydney Opera House Trust to compose the large-scale music theatre piece ''ICON'' to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
. His ''Incantation II'' for soprano and digital delay won the International
Valentino Bucchi
Valentino Bucchi (29 November 1916 – 8 May 1976) was an Italian composer.
Biography
Bucchi was born in Florence, Italy, the son of musicians. He studied at Luigi Cherubini Conservatory of Music in Florence. He died in Rome, Italy.
Works
T ...
Vocal Prize in Rome in 1997, and in 2004 he was awarded a Sir Winston
Churchill Fellowship
Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...
.
'' Prayer Bells'', in which the composer draws on traditions of Latin, Hebrew and Byzantine chant, had its US premiere in 2010 at the
Chicago Cultural Center
The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building operated by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events that houses the city's official reception venue where the Mayor of Chicago has welcomed preside ...
Constantine Cavafy
Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης ; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Gre ...
Helpmann Award
The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001.
The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...
for Best New Opera the same year, and Tasmanian company Liminal Spaces won the Event category of Australia's Interior Design Excellence Awards for its conceptualisation of the production's design.
In 2014, ''Kimisis – Falling Asleep'' had its Netherlands premiere at Splendor Amsterdam and toured to the Karavaan Festival.
His work ''Three Episodes from the Diary of Signaller Peter Ellis'' was a winner of ABC radio's Gallipoli Centenary Composer Competition, receiving its national broadcast premiere in 2015.
Koukias has been the recipient of numerous other international commissions and awards, and his design credits include the internationally acclaimed ''Odyssey'' and ''Medea''.
''EPIRUS – An Ancient Voice'', was premiered in 2016 and was composed for ondist Nadia Ratsimandresy. A version for Piano was composed for Gabriella Smart and in 2021 this work had its Russian premier at the Sheremetev Place, St. Petersburg by Alexey Pudiov
His ''Before The Flame Goes Out:Memorial to the Jewish Martyrs of Ioannina, Greece'',
premiered at the
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
, then toured to the Mona Foma Festival in 2017
In 2018, he directed the award winning chamber opera ''Backwards from Winter'', by US composer
Douglas Knehans
Douglas Knehans (born 1957, St. Louis, Missouri) is an American/Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Aust ...
for the
Dark Mofo
Dark Mofo is the winter version of the MONA FOMA festival, also held in Tasmania. With many of its events taking place at night, it celebrates the darkness of the southern winter solstice and features many musical acts, large scale light insta ...
festival.
Education
Koukias studied at the
Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music
The University of Tasmania Conservatorium of Music offers students an integrated music education based on best international contemporary arts practice.
Education structure
The Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music forms part of the faculty of Arts ...
Ian Cugley
Ian Cugley (22 June 19454 November 2010) was an Australian composer.
Biography
Early life
He was born in Melbourne in 1945. He gained early prominence with two orchestral works, ''Pan, the Lake'' and ''Prelude for Orchestra'', which were per ...
– Composition, University of Tasmania
*1981 – 1985
Johannes Roose
Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...
– Flute, University of Tasmania
*1983 – 1984 Don Kay – Composition, University of Tasmania
*1984 – 1985
Michael Cubbin
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
– Flute, University of Tasmania
*1984 – 1985
Peter Billam
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
– Composition, University of Tasmania
*1985
Keith Humble
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons i ...
– Composition, La Trobe University, Melbourne
*1985 – 1988 Michael Scott – Flute, NSW Conservatorium of Music
*1986
Mark Kopytman
Mark Kopytman (December 6, 1929 – December 16, 2011) (Hebrew: מרק קופיטמן) was a composer, musicologist and pedagogue. He was a professor and a rector of the Rubin Academy ( Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance), and a Laureate of the ...
– Composition, Rubin University of Jerusalem
*1986 Richard David Hames, Composers School, Adelaide
*1986 – 1988 Thermos Mexis Greek Instrumentation, Sydney
*1986 – 1989
Ross Edwards
Ross Edwards (born 1 December 1942) is a former Australian cricketer. Edwards played in 20 Test matches for Australia, playing against England, West Indies and Pakistan. He also played in nine One Day Internationals including the 1975 Crick ...
– Composition, Sydney
List of works
Operas
*1990: '' Days and Nights with Christ'', an opera in two parts, sung in ecclesiastical and modern Greek
*1992: '' To Traverse Water'', an opera in two parts, sung in ecclesiastical and modern Greek
*1994: '' Mikrovion'' – 36 Images in a Phantom Flux of Life, an opera in five parts
*1998: ''
The Divine Kiss
''The Divine Kiss — The Evil is Always and Everywhere'' is an opera by Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. The opera explores ...
'', an opera in seven parts
*2003: ''
Tesla – Lightning in His Hand
''Tesla – Lightning in His Hand'' is a large-scale opera about Serbian American engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), composed by Constantine Koukias, a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, wher ...
'', an opera in two parts, sung in English about the life and times of
Constantine Cavafy
Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης ; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Gre ...
, performed in modern Greek with bilingual narration. Premiered in 2012 as part of the MONA FOMA festival.
Music theatre
*1999: ''Rapture – Sonic Taxi Performance'', for solo voices, small chorus and ensemble
*2001: ''Spirits of the Hoist'', for three solo voices, ensemble and tape
*2002: ''
Schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...
– The Neutral Vowel'', for two solo voices and tape
Orchestral
*1993: ''ICON'', for grand orchestra, antiphonal choir (80 voices), 8 percussionists and tape; premiered on the steps of the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
*2003: ''Within a Prayer at Lamplighting'', for orchestra; commissioned by the China National Symphony Orchestra
*2004: ''Ancient Immortal Spirit'', for orchestra and mezzo-soprano soloist; premiered by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Choral works
*2001: '' Prayer Bells – PENTEKOSTARION'', for 3 solo chanters and male choirs with hand bells
*''TROPARION 1 – 'O 'Gladsome Light' '', for mixed girls voices with river stones and digital delay; sung in Greek, text from the Divine Liturgy
*''TROPARION 2 – 'Only-begotten Son' '', for solo countertenor and male choir (treble, tenor, baritone and basses) with river stones, sung in Greek, text from the Divine Liturgy
*''EPIRUS – 'An Ancient Voice' '', was composed for ondist Nadia Ratsimandresy and premiered in 2016
Chamber music
*1983: ''Requiescat'', for solo soprano
*1985: ''Echoi 1 – Incantation'', for soprano and digital delay
*1986: ''Echoi 2 – Byzantine Images'', for amplified flute and digital delay
*2003: ''1000 Door, A Thousand Windows'', for soprano and video projection
*2003: ''Seven Veils'', for piano and video projection
*2017: ''Before The Flame Goes Out:Memorial to the Jewish Martyrs of Ioannina'', Greece, for soprano, ondes martenot, violin, cello, piano & tape
Notable students
In addition to his own career as a composer, Koukias has mentored numerous other composers including
Matthew Dewey
Matthew Ingvald Dewey (born 1984) is an Australian classical music composer, singer, and music producer.
"Matthew Dewey – Represented Artist Profile",
Australian Music Centre Ltd, 2009, webpageAMC
Biography
Matthew Dewey is an Australian co ...
,
Michael Lampard
Michael Robert Garth Lampard (born March 1986) is an Australian opera singer, conductor and composer born in Hobart, Tasmania.
Education and early acclaim
Lampard undertook vocal study from a young age and acquired early notoriety as a boy sopra ...
and
Thanapoom Sirichang
Thanapoom Sirichang is a Tasmanian composer, born in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. He began his music study at the age of eight by joining the Prince Royals College Ensemble. He studied music with Gain Tepparat and Yutthapol Sakthamjareon unti ...