Lighthouse Sessions | Nikos Xydakis

The successful series of music events titled "Lighthouse Sessions" makes a comeback at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC).

With live audience, and livestreamed through SNFCC's main platforms, the Lighthouse Sessions feature four different musical partnerships, designed to highlight the power of the language of music, bringing together Greek traditional songs and rebetika with jazz and classical music, resulting in an unexpected outcome that is open to improvisation and experimental leanings.

At each session, composer and drummer Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis talks with his guests about their lives and musical explorations, while at the same time inviting them to a musical dialog, accompanied by a jazz trio and a string quartet.

On Sunday, January 23, at 21:00, his first guest is the notable Greek composer Nikos Xydakis, at a sound- and beat-rich concert to be held at the SNFCC Lighthouse. The sacred and the cosmopolitan aspects of the Near East meet the Greek identity, through arrangements featuring elements of jazz and classical music, adding fresh touches to the already multifarious canvas of the well-known composer.

Nikos Xydakis was born in Cairo, Egypt, where he spent his childhood years. In 1963, he settled with his family in Greece, where he gradually was son over by music. He released his first recording, The Revenge of Gypsy-ness, in 1978, an LP that forever changed the course of the Greek "laiko" genre. Another milestone was the LP Cairo - Nafplio - Khartoum (1989). Firm and persistent in his collaborations with lyricists, performers and musicians, he places particular emphasis on the lyrics of his songs, combining influences from various different places with strictly personal experiences. Over the lengthy course of his career, he has written music for ancient Greek tragedy, contemporary theater and film, while beyond Greece he has held concerts in countries such as Italy, Germany, Netherlands, and the United States.

Having previously served as teacher at the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University, composer, orchestrator and drums virtuoso Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis is currently one of the key performers in the jazz scene of Greece. Born in Heraklion, Crete, he began playing professionally with various ensembles when he moved to Athens as a university student. In late 2015, the "Alex Drakos Trio," the band he created together with bass player Dinos Manos and pianist Yannis Papadopoulos, released the LP Tora, while Ktistakis's last recording, titled Circles, was released in 2021. Guided by improvisation and rock influences, as well as traditional and classical music, he is currently inspiring a new generation of jazz musicians with his teaching, creativity and overall mental attitude.

At this first Lighthouse Session of 2022, two composers of different generations and with different starting points explore their shared codes of communication, bringing together the timeless worth of tradition with modern-day creative pursuits.

Credits:
Dinos Manos - bass
Yannis Papadopoulos - piano
Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis - drums
Kostas Panagiotidis - violin
Panagiotis Tziotis - violin
Angela Giannaki - viola
Dimitris Travlos - cello

Composition & String Arrangement: Nikos Xydakis & Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis

Adaptation: Nikos Xydakis & Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis

Event information:
The concert will be held with live audience, but it will also be livestreamed on this page, as well as on SNFCC's Facebook page @SNFCC, and on SNFCC's YouTube channel.

Sunday, 23/01 | 21:00
LIGHTHOUSE

Advance Ticket Sales Points:
· online on Ticket Services website
· by phone: 210 7234567 (Ticket Services)

Ticket Prices:
General entrance € 10, reduced € 5

Concession tickets of 5€ are available to students, people aged 65+, children and young people aged up to 18 years old, the unemployed, Persons with Disabilities along with their companion, multi-child families and residents of the Municipality of Kallithea. Children can sit with their chaperones in any zone, with a concessions ticket.

On the day of the concert, concession ticket holders will be asked to show their ID, as well as supporting documentation (student card, unemployment card, family status certificate for multi-child parents, certification of disability, utility bill for residents of Kallithea)

Pre-sale for Members starts on Thursday 13/01 at 12.00
Pre-sale for the public starts on Friday 14/01 at 12.00

Important information:

• Doors open at 20.00
• We suggest that you be at the location no later than 45 minutes before the commencement of the event.
• Entrance will be possible up to 10 minutes before the event's commencement.
• Pre-sale is required. No order of priority will be available on-site.
• All SNFCC areas are accessible to people with disabilities.
• For more information or clarifications, please contact the SNFCC switchboard on 216 8091000.

According to the latest measures to protect public health from the risk of spreading COVID-19, a valid vaccination certificate or a valid disease certificate, is required for the public to enter the event venue, as the venue operates as a pure venue. The above applies to adults. Μinors from 4 to 17 years old may, alternatively, submit a statement of negative self test (24 hours), a certificate of PCR (72 hours) or rapid (48 hours) diagnostic test, in accordance with the recent government measures.

A parallel identity check will be carried out on the persons who show the required certificates, as provided by law.

Participants must wear a mask and keep their distance both during attendance and during events and in accordance with the instructions of NPHO.

Due to public health measures, there may be changes regarding either the staging of the event, or the maximum number of participants.

This event comes under a grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Alongside the majority of its events, which are free thanks to a series of SNF grants, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center also organizes a number of events with affordable tickets, thus enriching its income sources and securing its long-term financial integrity.