In 2017, the non-profit organization TrakArt realized that an orchestra should be created and established in Limassol, Cyprus. The orchestra was established with the intention to develop and promote the career of many talented professional musicians that are returning to our city, and also, to act as an innovative platform, encouraging a creative dialogue between musicians and artists.
In 2020, the Board of Directors realized that even more should be made for art and culture, since the pandemic had a sudden and substantial impact on the arts and cultural events. Thus, the summer of 2020 initiates a new collaboration, with the conductor Aris Antoniadis, who is now the permanent conductor and artistic director of TrakArt Pops Orchestra.
The first official performance and presentation of TrakArt Pops Orchestra took place in October 2021. This first performance entitled “Kyprion Erga”, was dedicated to 12 Cypriot composers, with protagonists the Cypriot talented musicians of the TrakArt Pops Orchestra along with the singers Michalis Hadjiyiannis and Costas Hadjichristodoulou.
After the successful performances of the winter of 2021 and concerts that followed in 2022, the orchestra began planning new collaborations and new programs for the future aiming high.
Artistic Director
Aris Antoniades
Praised for the “spiritual heights, the drama, the tension” of his music, “immersing the listener into a world of sound” (The National Herald, NYC), composer Aris Antoniades creates works for everything from Symphony Orchestras to Jazz Big Bands. He has written/arranged for eight-time Grammy nominee Bobby Sanabria, the National Radio Symphony Orchestra of Greece (ERT), twenty-eight-time golden and platinum album vocalist (IFPI Greece) Alkistis Protopsalti, as well as other influential artists of the Greek industry, including Michalis Hatzigiannis, George Perris, Costas Cacoyannis, and X-Factor (Greece) judges George Theofanous and Mariza Rizou.
Among his most distinguished concert works are his Chiaroscuro for symphony orchestra, which was recorded and broadcast by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation; his Nostos for saxophone and piano, co-commissioned by the University of Sydney and the Australian ensemble HD Duo, which was featured in the group’s album Music of the Commonwealth published by Da Vinci Classics in November 2021; and his Toccata & Fugue for church organ which was performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. In the jazz medium, Aris has composed a set of original works inspired by Cypriot folklore music. This set was featured in several festivals, including the Kypria International Festival of Cyprus. More notably, his original Afro-Cuban Jazz arrangement of Lalo Schifrin’s famous Mission Impossible Theme was performed at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York (Jazz at the Lincoln Center) in the presence of the late conga master Cándido Camero.
Aside from concert works, Aris has written extensively for film and theater, having scored seven short films, including the film Bizone whose title theme is available on all major streaming platforms. His theater credits include collaborations with Broadway veterans, such as composer/pianist Andrew Gerle and director Joe Locarro – Aris provided orchestrations for their show Tony Awards: The Early Years. In Cyprus, he recently composed original music for the Greek experimental play Women of Soil, directed by Ermina Kyriazi.
As of January 2021, he is the artistic director and principal conductor of the TrakArt Pops Orchestra in his homeland, Cyprus. In that capacity, he has music-directed several big productions all around the country. One of his most notable collaborations as a conductor was with internationally acclaimed Greek composer and pianist Stefanos Korkolis and golden album vocalist (IFPI Greece) Sofia Manousaki. Aris led a live performance of their album: I Should Like to Relate This Memory, based on poetry by the Greek poet C. P. Cavafy.
A recipient of the Fulbright award, Aris completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Classical Composition at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC, where he studied with Mark Stambaugh, receiving the Provost’s Award for Academic Excellence upon graduation. He is honored to have been the recipient of the Manhattan School of Music International Advisory Board and the A. G. Leventis Foundation scholarship awards. Aris is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Education of the University of St. Louis, Missouri.
TrakArt Pops Orchestra Musicians
Violin I: GIORGOS HADJIGEORGIOU
Violin II: KONSTANTINA MAIMARI
Viola: KONSTANTINOS CHRISTOU
Cello: DOROS ZISIMOS | MARIOS STYLIANOU
Flute & Piccolo: KONSTANTINOS MAKARITIS
Oboe: STAMATIS SOLONOS
Trumpet & Flicorne: YIANNIS KOUDOUNAS
Trombone: ANDREAS THEOCHAROUS
Percussion: MARIA KRAMBI
Piano: ANTONIS POLYKARPOU
Guitars, Lauto & Euphonium: VYRONAS ATHINODOROU
Electric/Acoustic Bass: NIKOLAS TRYFONOS
Drums: STAMATIS GIATROU