NEW YORK – Pericles Kanaris and his band Synolon performed a concert at the Drom NYC music venue on November 21 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
The performance kicks off a new series of concerts for Mr. Kanaris entitled “Alive” and as he explains: “It is a very important opportunity to celebrate through music the values we share and which help us keep our souls alive, in a demanding environment like that of the city of New York.”
The crowd filled the space quickly in a good and festive mood. Among those present were the Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Koutras and his wife Popita Pavli, Consul of Greece Lana Zochiou, NYU Provost Katherine Fleming who was celebrating her birthday that night, and actress/producer Anthoula Katsimatides, among many others.
Throughout the evening, songs by well-known composers including Manos Hadjidakis, Lavrentis Macheritsas, Haris and Panos Katsimihas, Pix Lax and many more were heard. The concert also included many contemporary Greek songs as well as traditional, rebetika, and folk songs.
Kanaris, with his usual ease and charm communicating with the audience, played the piano and sang, sharing some of his own songs, such as Mia Petalouda (A Butterfly) with lyrics by the late Manos Eleftheriou.
The song Isouna, ti isouna (H Paximadokleftra) was transformed completely by Kanaris’ contemporary arrangement and playfully dedicated to friends of his in the audience. He also led the singing of Happy Birthday for Prof. Fleming.
After a period of absence from the stage, during which Kanaris devoted himself to recording and creating new music, he has returned dynamically to live performance.
With his characteristic courtesy, he told The National Herald, “Tonight’s event is a continuation and a beginning. It is a continuation because I started playing in this venue in 2008. The music you heard tonight is a journey from rebetiko to the generation of great composers, Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Stavros Xarchakos, and the generation of songwriters that followed, but including folk and traditional song.
“When I first started I had not yet released my own music, so we were playing songs that were well-known. Since this year I have begun a series of new concerts, which will include my own songs in these Greek evenings. So in this sense it is also a beginning.”
After Aoratos (Invisible) with Manos Eleftheriou, he is working on a new album of a number of things that are not yet announced. “I am very happy with the audience’s acceptance and their reaction,” he told TNH. And he added that the proceeds of the next concert, which will take place at Drom on December 19, will support SOS Children’s Villages in Greece.
The performers: Pericles Kanaris: voice/piano/orchestrations; Peter Douskalis: guitars/assistant director; Agapitos Maganaris: bouzouki/voice; Saadi Zain: bass; Giancarlo DeTrizio: drums/percussion; and Leonor Falcon Pasquali: viola; with special guests the dynamic vocalist Nektarios Antoniou who started off the concert, Gary Schreiner on accordion and harmonica, vocalist Sofia Tzini, and Athan Hilaki on guitar and vocals. The visual art for the performance was created by artist Lydia Venieri.
The series of concerts takes place under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in New York and the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce.
The next performance takes place on December 19 at 8 PM at Drom. The doors open at 7 PM. More information is available by phone: 212-777-1157 and online: dromnyc.com.
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