Yiorgos Kaloudis (born in 1973) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

cellist and

Cretan lyra The Cretan lyra () is a pear-shaped three-stringed Greece, Greek Violin, a traditional Greek musical instruments, musical instrument, central to the traditional music of Crete and other islands in the Dodecanese and the Aegean Islands, Aegean Ar ...

player.

Biography

Kaloudis, born in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, has roots in a musically inclined family originating from

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. His upbringing was immersed in

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, surrounded by family members, including his parents, who were

musicians A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

versed in a variety of

genres Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other form ...

and styles. This environment provided him with early access to a wide array of

musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

, encompassing both symphonic instruments typically found in an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

and traditional musical instruments. He began his musical journey playing the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, tutored by his parents. However, his primary interest gravitated towards

stringed instruments In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play som ...

. Kaloudis started with the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, instruments he learned from his grandparents, thereby continuing a family legacy as a fourth-generation Lyra player. His musical exploration further extended to the

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, where he represents the third generation of his family in the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

instrument family.

Athletic career

From 1988 to December 1997, he was a member of the Greek National Track and Field Team, competing in the 5 km, 10 km and 20 km

racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

events. In 1990, at the International

Race Walking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

Meeting in Czechoslovakia he established the national record in a 20 km walk (Juniors category), which was beaten only after 22 years (2012). In 1991 at the European Championships (Junior) held in Thessaloniki, with the name Yeóryios Papagiannakis, he got the 12th position in the 10 km indoor walk. He is still today one of the top 20 performers in the history of Greek race walking.

Musical career

Yiorgos Kaloudis studied Cello at th
Athenaeum Conservatory
with Claire Demeulenere and, thanks to the

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

, in Los Angeles under the tutelage of

Ted Greene Theodore Greene (September 26, 1946 – July 23, 2005) was an American fingerstyle guitarist, columnist, session musician and educator in Encino, California, Encino, California. Career Greene began his own guitar studies at the age of 11, and w ...

. He also studied Cello for a year with Renato Ripo in Athens, and with Vitaliy Maltese in Rethymnon. Before publishing as a solo artist he was a member of Greek

jazz-fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

group ''Occasional Dream'' (''Περιστασιακό Όνειρο''). His solo discography consists of five records: ''Truth'' (2005), ''On the Wind'' (2009), ''J.S.BACH: Cello Suites on the Cretan lyra'' (2016-2017), ''Aptera'' (2018) and ''Driopi'' (2020). He performed the

Cello suites The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the p ...

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

with the Cretan lyra, maintaining the tonalities of the original work. This was the very first time that a Greek traditional instrument interpreted classical music. The Lyra he used to play suites a special four-string instrument (with an added low C string ) that was designed and built solely for this purpose. The concerts of Yiorgos Kaloudis feature an extensive use of live loop recording and a combination of elements from classical, ambient, jazz and world music. In July 2017, he re-opened the ancient theatre of Aptera in Crete, that after almost 1700 years was hosting its first event. Beyond being a solo artist, he also collaborates on the projects of songwriter

Alkinoos Ioannidis Alkinoos Ioannidis (; born 19 September 1969) is a Greek Cypriot composer, lyricist, singer, and orchestrator. Biography He was born in Nicosia on 19 September 1969 to a Greek Cypriot father and a Greek mother. His artistic family, with a painte ...

. Since 2011 they give concerts together in many venues, churches and concert halls around the world. As a soloist he collaborated with the

Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a symphony orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Their home venue is the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. History The roots of th ...

and the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) () is a Scottish orchestra, based in Glasgow. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland’s ...

. He performed in

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across se ...

, Rome Biennale for Young Artists, in

Manchester Jazz Festival Manchester Jazz Festival is an annual 9-day-long festival focused on showcasing contemporary jazz from the North West of England and beyond. History The Manchester Jazz Festival was created in 1996 as a one-day showcase and has grown into a 9-da ...

and in

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of trad ...

among the others. He played along with

Steve Tavaglione Steve "Tav" Tavaglione (born December 1, 1950) is an American woodwind and EWI musician. He is best known for his work as a co-founder of the Latin fusion group Caldera with Jorge Strunz and Eduardo del Barrio, his work with Michael Jackson, Whi ...

Sylvan Richardson Sylvan Richardson is a British guitarist, composer, and massage, masseur. Music Best known for being the one-time guitarist of Simply Red, after the second album ''Men and Women (album), Men and Women'' and a successful world tour, Richardson ...

Karine Polwart Karine Polwart ( ) (born 23 December 1970) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised fo ...

Markus Stockhausen Markus Stockhausen (born 2 May 1957) is a German trumpeter and composer. His recordings and performances have typically alternated between jazz and chamber or opera music, the latter often in collaboration with his father, composer Karlheinz St ...

, saxophonist David Lynch, pianists Stavros Lantsias, Takis Farazis, and the groups Lemoncello, Faros, Furtuna and The Chosen.

Discography

Solo albums

* 2005 -
Truth
' (Dna Label) * 2009 -
On The Wind
' (Dna Label) * 2016 -
J.S. BACH Cello Suites on the Cretan Lyra
' (World Premier Recording, Dna Label) * 2017 -
J.S. BACH Cello Suites on the Cretan Lyra
'Yiorgos Kaloudis on BBC Μusic https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/c5f66a34-c12c-44c8-9492-e213014f2dda (World Premier Recording, Dna Label) * 2018 -
Aptera
' (Dna Label) * 2020 -
Driopi
' (Dna Label)

with Occasional Dream

* 2001 - ''Peristasiako Oneiro'' (Περιστασιακό Όνειρο) (Lyra, Mikros Iros)

with Furtuna

* 2007 - ''Furtuna'' (KAF Müzik)

External links

''Official site''
''yiorgoskaloudismusic.com''
''Official site''
''classicalcretanlyra.com''
page''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaloudis, Yiorgos Living people 1973 births Greek cellists Musicians from Athens