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The Politika of the Armonica
with Dimitris Koustas and Rebetiko Carnival Musicians
Saturday 17th June 2023 @ Green Note
All the way from Greece, RC guest resident musician Dimitris Koustas is joined by London-based regulars on the scene, Dunja Botic and Maria Tsirodimitri to enjoy tunes and songs composed by Tountas, Skarvelis, Amiralis, and other great composers, featuring the accordion as a lead instrument.
Crafted through improvisation and scholarly development and transmitted through oral tradition and later through recordings from generation to generation of musicians, these repertoires embody the rich cultural diversity that characterised Asia Minor – the crossroads between East and West and North and South, remembered for the historical coexistence and mingling of peoples and civilisations spanning three and a half thousand years.
Musicians:
Dimitris Koustas, accordion/voice
Dunja Botic, voice
Maria Tsirodimitri, voice/guitar
Dimitris Koustas was born in Athens, Greece in 1978. His study of the accordion began at the National Conservatory of Greece, where he studied with Kostas Tsilidis and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accordion and Advanced Theory; he continued his studies with Iraklis Vavatsikas and Raymond Bodell at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory and the University of Surrey, where he also studied composition with Steve Goss and Classical Studio Production with Sebastian Forbes. He completed his studies in Classical Accordion with Owen Murray (Royal Academy of Music).
He has performed as a soloist and ensemble member in Greece, the UK, France, Italy and Austria, in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Jazz Cafe, Le Divan Du Monde (Paris France), Warwick International Festival, and the City Of London School. His compositional work includes three full albums ,”Melting Pot”, “9Th Hour talk” and “Anergos Akrovatis” published by DNAlabel, alongside music for the theatre, documentaries, art installations and performance acts.
Finally, his book “Politika Of Armonika” published by faggotobooks consists of twenty pieces from Asia Minor and Istanbul which are representative of the Smyrneiko and early Rebetiko tradition.
Dunja Botic is an acclaimed singer of Southern and Eastern European folk music hailing from Athens. Channelling both Lautari Legends and Greek grandmothers she brings a unique intensity to the stage and her music, both as a soloist and as part of the award-winning ensemble Don Kipper. Multilingual and multi-talented she specialises in teaching Balkan vocal techniques, traditional storytelling and choral and solo performance from the Mediterranean.
Event Details
Doors open: 13:45
Music starts: 14:15
Music finishes: 16:45
Dimitris Koustas:
Dunja Botic:
Maria Tsirodimitri:
