The Spring Organ Series has been organized in Athens since 2004. The festival has been selected to receive the EFFE – Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe Label for 2015-2016. It presents organ concerts either solo or in combination with other instruments at St Paul’s Anglican Church, founded in 1838 in the heart of Athens. Since its very beginning, more than 60 concerts have been presented, while more than 240 artists have participated, performing solo or in ensembles.

Program

Palm Sunday 24 April
“Improvising on dance tunes and old folk songs”
Lars Rosenlund Nørremark, organ (Denmark)
Dan Selchau, recorder and kaval (Denmark)

Lars Rosenlund Nørremark has a soloist diploma summa cum laude from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark. He has performed concerts in Denmark, Norway, The UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and recorded four CDs. Besides being active as a concert organist, he teaches organ at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark.

Dan Selchau has a soloist diploma from the Academy of Music in Esbjerg, Denmark. His repertory extends across various musical genres and he has performed in such different countries as Japan, Tunisia, Iran and Afghanistan among others.

Monday 25 April
Works by J. S. Bach, G. F. Handel a.o.
Johannes Geffert, organ (Germany)
Siranous Tsalikian, soprano (Greece)
Dimitra Triantafyllou, violin (Greece)

Johannes Geffert is professor for organ and improvisation at the State Conservatory of Musicand Dance in Cologne, where he is also head of the department protestant church music. Born in 1951 as son of a highly recognized organist and director of church music he was brought up in the traditions of his profession. He studied with Michael Schneider and Nicolas Kynaston. From 1974 until 1979 Johannes Geffert was organist in Aachen and conductor of the Aachen Bach society, where he founded the Festival “Aachener Bachtage”. From 1980 to 1997 he was director of church music at the Kreuzkirche Bonn, the largest church in former capitol of West Germany, which is well known for a high standard of music in worship services and its activeconcert sieries.Johannes Geffert has performed at many international organ festivals in the European countries, in Japan, South America, the West Indies and in the States. His broadcastings and CDs achieve highest acclaim. In 1991 he founded the “Johann Christian Bach-Academy”, an orchestra for performances with period instruments. As editor he overlooks a series of publications with organ music by American and British composers, published some of his own Liszt-transcriptions for organ with Schott and writes articles on musical issues in various magazines. Geffert is honorary Vice-President of the IAO.

Greek soprano Siranous Tsalikian has performed in Greece and abroad. As a soloist with the Dessau Opera, she has toured extensively in Germany, Hungary and Switzerland. She has collaborated with the Vienna Volksoper, the Greek National Opera, the Athens and Thessaloniki Concert Halls and the Thessaloniki Opera among others.

Greek violinist Dimitra Triantafyllou has been a member of the European Youth Orchestra, the Athens State Orchestra and the Greek National Opera Orchestra. She is also member of the Palestine National Orchestra and the Galan Trio.

SOURCE/PHOTO: specs n’ arts