16th International Choir Festival of Karpenissi
10th International Choir Competition

"Antonio Vivaldi"

June 28 - July 1 2012, Karpenissi - Greece

Our upcoming choir Festival will be held between June 27 - June 30, 2013


Organization

    The International Choir Festival of Karpenissi and the International Choir Competition "Antonio Vivaldi" is organized since 1988, by the Musical Cultural Association “Choir of Karpenissi Antonio Vivaldi”, while from its early steps, the artistic director of the Festival and the Competition has been Professor George Xenakis.

Curriculum Vitae of the Artistic Director

Georgios Xenakis

    George Xenakis was born in Karpenissi, Greece. He is engaged with music and in particular with phonetics, choir art and choir conduction. He has studied Advanced Theoretics and Byzantine Music at the National Conservatory of Athens and received his counterpoint and Fuga diploma at the Synchronous Conservatory of Athens.

   Since 1982, he has been a Music Professor in Karpenissi and with his initiative the Mixed Choir of Karpenissi was founded in 1986. At his peculiar course in choir art, he has put on various plays for choir and orchestra of composers such as Mozart, Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Beethoven, Handel, Haydn, etc, while he conducted symphonic orchestras such as:

    - Symphony Orchestra of the Dramatic Theatre, city of Veliko Ternovo - Bulgaria (1990)
    - Room Orchestra, city of Razgrant - Bulgaria (1991)
    - Room Orchestra "Orfeus", city of Pernik - Bulgaria (1992)
    - Room Orchestra of the University of Plovdiv - Bulgaria (1998)
    - Room Orchestra of the Municipal Conservatory of Lamia – Greece (2002)

    In 1992 he put on the Holy Liturgy of Ioannis Hrisostomos composed by Mikis Theodorakis, at the Holy Temple of Evrytanian Saints in Karpenissi. He has given more than 200 concerts in Greece and abroad, and since 1988 he is the artistic director of the International Choir Festival of Karpenissi and the International Choir Competition “Antonio Vivaldi”. He has been a conductor of the following choirs:

    - (1988 - today) : Mixed Choir of the Musical Cultural Association, Choir of Karpenissi "Antonio Vivaldi", Karpenissi - Greece
    - (1988 - today) : Youth Choir of the Musical Cultural Association, Choir of Karpenissi "Antonio Vivaldi", Karpenissi - Greece
    - (1990 - 1998)  : Mixed Choir “Orfeus” of Agrinio, Agrinio - Greece
    - (1991 - 1992)  : Choir of the city of Thermos Aitoloakarnanias, Thermos - Greece
    - (2006 - today) : Mixed Choir of the Municipality of Sperhiada, Sperhiada - Greece
    - (2007 - today) : Mixed Choir of the Municipality of Makrakomi, Makrakomi - Greece

    At the 3rd International Choir Festival of Saint Baume in France he participated with the choir “Orfeus” of Agrinio, to the recording of 2 CDs with choir music, performing well-known works of various Greek Composers.




Short History of the Choir of Karpenissi "Antonio Vivaldi"

Choir of Karpenissi

    The mixed choir of Karpenissi was established in 1986, through an initiative taken by the Music Professor George Xenakis, who has been the conductor of the choir since its foundation. The choir of Karpenissi, aims to conserve and to promote the choir art, and to actively participate in the cultural and social life of its city, the city of Karpenissi in Greece.

    The choir has given more than 100 concerts in the municipality of Evrytania (Greece), in all cities of Greece and abroad (Bulgaria 1989, Hungary 1990, Cyprus 1992, Romania 2003-2007, etc). The choir has participated in various Choir Festivals in Greece, such as the 7th choir festival of Atalanti, the 1st International Festival of Religious Music in the city of Delfoi, the 4th one of Aspra Spitia, the 5th and 10th ones of Kifisia, the 7th one of Karditsa, the 5th one of Argus Orestikou, the 5th one of Patra, the 6th Internation Festival of Thessaloniki, the 9th one of Preveza, the 9th one of Nikaia, the 7th one of Larisa, the 3rd one of Athens – Pallas, the 14th one of Argos, the 10th International Festival of Serres, the 12th one of Agias Volou, and more.

    The choir has performed numerous works for orchestra and choir by composers such as Mozart, Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Beethoven, Handel, Haydn, with the symphony orchestras of the Dramatic Theatre “K.Kisimov” (Bulgaria), Pernik (Bulgaria), Razgrant (Bulgaria), Philipoupole (Bulgaria). It has also put on the Holy Liturgy and the “Axion Esti” composed by Mikis Theodorakis. Since 1988, the choir organizes the International Choir Festival of Karpenissi and the International Choir Competition “Antonio Vivaldi” in Karpenissi, Greece. Since its founding, the conductor of the choir is George Xenakis, while from 1994 to 2010 the choir pianist was Dionysis Xenakis.