Demetri Tashie

Demetri Tashie's love of Greek music and dance began at an early age. As an adult, he developed a passion for the folk music, rituals, costumes, and crafts associated with the cultures of rural Greece. Mr. Tashie has an extensive folk instrument collection, complete with tsambounas, many intricately carved chanters for askomandouras, a Cretean bagpipe, zurnas, flogeras, and gaidas. He also gives lecture demonstrations on the instruments used in Greek folk music, teaches Greek folk dance, and judges Folk Dance Federation competitions held across the U.

Demetri Tashie's love of Greek music and dance began at an early age. As an adult, he developed a passion for the folk music, rituals, costumes, and crafts associated with the cultures of rural Greece. Mr. Tashie has an extensive folk instrument collection, complete with tsambounas, many intricately carved chanters for askomandouras, a Cretean bagpipe, zurnas, flogeras, and gaidas. He also gives lecture demonstrations on the instruments used in Greek folk music, teaches Greek folk dance, and judges Folk Dance Federation competitions held across the U.S. Aside from performing and teaching, Mr. Tashie frequently travels to Greece to film documentaries on folk rituals and celebrations of village life. His passion is for the Anastenaria custom of Eastern Thrace in which the participants dance on burning coals in honor of Saint Constantine and Saint Helen.

Mavrothi T. Kontanis, born in 1979 in Pennsylvania, has family origins from Halkidiki, Greece. As a child, he showed interest in several instruments, including the clarinet, guitar, and bouzouki. At the age of 16, Mr. Kontanis discovered the oud, his true passion, and began lessons with Stamatis Merzanis. Since then, he has studied with many other musicians, including Münir N. Beken, Emin Gündüz, John Berberian, Kyriakos Kalaitzides, Dinçer Dalk?l?c, Yurdal Tokcan, and Ara Dinkjian. In addition to playing the oud, he has become an accomplished singer and violinist, and also enjoys teaching and writing. In 2007, Dr. Münir N. Beken performed Mr. Kontanis’ composition "U??ak Saz Semai" at the Echoes of Diversity symposium at the University of Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. He has since been commissioned to compose a piece for the Music of the Stones project headed by William Berry. Mr. Kontanis has also been contracted by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. to write a series of oud method books. Mr. Kontanis has performed throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, playing traditional, classical, international, and original music with various ensembles. He has been featured on several albums, including the soundtrack of AmericanEast. Mr. Kontanis released two albums in June 2008 that showcase the oud and the sounds of the Aegean region.

A native New Yorker, George Stathos is a third generation American of Greek ancestry. He began studying the clarinet at an early age with Greek, Armenian, and Turkish musicians in the New York metropolitan area. He has performed nationally and internationally, in Germany, Canada, and Australia. Mr. Stathos collaborated with Annabouboula’s Greek rock group on NBC’s Sunday Night hosted by David Sanborn. He is featured on the single “Flutes of Pan” with British group The Waterboys. Pix Lax, a group from Athens, highlights Mr. Stathos’ improvisations on the single “Lene Yia Mena” (“They Talk About Me”). Recent credits include being featured on the soundtrack for the hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Mr. Stathos’ orchestra, My Greek Wedding Band, performs at weddings, folk festivals, dances, nightclubs, and other occasions.

Violinist Megan Gould, one of New York City’s foremost performers of Middle Eastern and Greek music, holds a violin performance degree from Indiana University and a Master’s Degree in ethnomusicology with a concentration on the Middle East from the University of London. She has performed with John Mellencamp, Sean Lennon, and Donovan, among others. Ms. Gould is also a founding member of the NoorSaaz ensemble, the music director of the Smadar (Levi) band, and a regular performer with the MOTH storytellers. Her work has appeared on many film soundtracks and commercials www.megangould.info.

Timothy Quigley, a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Brooklyn, New York, is accomplished in various musical styles and contexts on drums, congas, bongos, doumbek, def, riq, tapan, and frame drums.?His unique sound has led to collaborations with Andy Statman, the late beat poet Allen Ginsburg, Jon Birdsong, and Ryan Francesconi. He has also performed with Matisyahu, Smokey Hormel, Frank London, Greg Cohen, Matt Munisteri, Ron Miles, Reuben Radding, Brad Shepik, Charming Hostess, and the klezmer rock band Golem. A specialist in Balkan and Middle Eastern rhythms, Mr. Quigley has worked with Bulgarian saxophone virtuoso Yuri Yunakov, Algerian Rai master Cheb Nasro, vocalist Amalia Papastefanou, Christos Govetas, violinist Beth Cohen, clarinetist Lefteris Bournias and Matt Moran of the Slavic Soul Party. Mr. Quigley has composed music for modern dance, television, and film including Trans and Ed's Holistic Auto Repair. Recent album releases include One Ring Zero's Wake Them Up, RF's Interno and Falls, Adam Good's Dances of Macedonia and the Balkans, and Dan Cantrell's soundtrack for the documentary Divided Loyalties.?In addition to touring, recording, and teaching, he performs with Stereofan, The Zagnut Orkestar, Las Rubias del Norte, One Ring Zero, Chi Cha Libre, Sheqer, Romashka, The Near East River Ensemble, Hang the Lights, Mavrothi T. Kontanis, and NoorSaaz.

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11/2/08: Musical Tour of Greece

Greek folk music virtuoso Demetri Tashie and others lead a tour of the village cultures of rural Greece through music and dance.

Musical Tour of Greece

Greek folk music virtuoso Demetri Tashie and others lead a tour of the village cultures of rural Greece through music and dance.

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