Greek Music Ensemble

The Greek Music Ensemble is a Boston-based group committed to the critical interpretation and high quality performance of Greek Art Music (΄Εντεχνη Ελληνική Μουσική), Rembetiko, and Greek traditional and Folk music. We aspire to promote these music genres as parts of the World Music scene. Among our goals is also to redefine and elevate the performance standards of Greek music in the United States in order to represent the true spirit, stylistic nuances, and accurate interpretation of genuine Greek music. Our approach to the performance is based on a critical exploration and interpretation of the unique stylistic and technical aspects of the music, and on a highly skilled, elaborate and inspired presentation of it.​ Our repertoire includes music composed by the great masters of Greek songwriting (Manos Xatzidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Stavros Xarhakos, Giannis Markopoulos, Vasilis Tsitsanis, and others), Greek urban music composed mainly in the first half of the 20th century - also known as Rembetiko, and Greek traditional and folk music.​

The Greek Music Ensemble’s major musical projects are part of the broader World Music Genre. They are projects that the group has conceived and performed during the past few years. The music is all compiled, transcribed and arranged by us for various types of ensemble configurations, based upon content and style. Most of it is music and songs from the vast Greek Art and Folk music repertoire, presented in our own unique way and based upon our understanding and interpretation of Greek music and culture. ​Here is a brief description of our main musical concepts and project/concert proposals:

Manos and Mikis: The concept of this project is the representation of the powerful relationship between Greek Art Music of the 20th century and Greek poetry of the past two centuries, and is dedicated to Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hadjidakis. Manos and Mikis, the two central figures of Greek Art Music, successfully married poetry with music for more than 50 years, creating an aesthetic product of high artistic and emotional value. 

Tribute to Vasilis Tsitsanis: This project is dedicated to the music of Vasilis Tsitsanis, a seminal figure in the rembetiko and the laiko, two interconnected genres of Greek urban music. Tsitsanis, who was also a virtouoso bouzouki player, is the composer who gave rembetiko a new poetic and musical form and situated it in the new social and political reality of Greece after the second world war.

Nostos: Nostos includes a variety of Greek traditional, folk, urban, contemporary, and Art Music, in a musical journey, a short odyssey, that employs both music and imagery. Songs in this project have been composed during the past 200 years and their common theme that has inspired generations of immigrant Greeks around the world for the past two centuries, is Nostos. Nostos stands for the unappeased yearning to return to the home country and it has been a distinct and rich source of inspiration and artistic creation for Greeks. In this project we perform selected genres of Greek music from all different regions of Greece dedicated to nostos and "xenitia" (living as a stranger in a foreign land). Songs that narrate the nostalgia for the homeland, the joys and sorrows of life in a foreign land, the grief of separation, and the emotional ingredients that make up the fabric of the immigrant psyche.

Musica Poetica: Musica Poetica is a unique project. It is a fascinating musical journey that extends into almost twenty centuries; a journey into Greek poetry and music from the ancient times to the present day. In this project, we attempt to trace a part of the cultural history of Greece, as it is manifested through poetry set to music. We also try to trace the common thread that weaves through the Greek poetic and musical tradition through the ages. 

Greece and Asia-Minor Folk Songs: This project includes music from the Greek folk tradition, from the regions of Macedonia, Thrace, Pontos, the Aegean islands, Peloponese, Asia Minor and other places. In performances, a variety of Greek, Mediterranean, and Middle-Eastern instruments is being used. Greek traditional music consists of several autonomous regional styles, but it can also be divided into three major stylistic areas: the mainland, the islands and Asia Minor. A further division may include urban and rural musics. In this project we also try to trace the cross-fertilization process found in and between the different regions.

For more information and sample video clips of our concepts/projects please visit our website: grmusicensemble.com