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Mavrothi T. Kontanis was born in 1979 in Pennsylvania, USA, though his family’s origin is from Halkidiki, Greece.
As a child, he showed interest in several instruments, including the clarinet, guitar, and bouzouki. However, at the age of 16 he discovered his true passion, the oud, and began lessons with his first teacher Stamatis Merzanis immediately. Since then he has studied with many other renowned masters including Münir N. Beken, Emin Gündüz, John Berberian, Kyriakos Kalaitzides, Dinçer Dalkılıc, Yurdal Tokcan, and Ara Dinkjian. In addition to playing oud, Mavrothi has become an accomplished singer and violinist, and also enjoys teaching and writing.
By combining his love for classical, urban, and folk music from Greece and the Near East, Mavrothi hopes to heighten awareness of the great beauty and freedom that exist within this unique and diverse musical tradition, especially through the Maeandros Ensemble, which he founded in 2006.
Mavrothi has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East playing traditional and classical music from all over the world, as well as original compositions of his own with various ensembles. He has been featured on several albums and the film soundtrack of “AmericanEast,” and is planning the release of two albums in the Spring of 2008 that will showcase the oud and diversity of sounds from the Aegean region.
Mavrothi’s composition “Uşşak Saz Semai” was performed by Dr. Münir N. Beken at the “Echoes of Diversity” symposium at the University of Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria in November of 2007, and he has been commissioned to compose a piece for the “Music of the Stones” project headed by visual artist William Berry.
Most recently, Mavrothi has been contracted by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. to write a series of oud method books for international distribution, and will also be teaching Greek folk singing classes in August of 2009 at the EEFC Music and Dance Workshops in Iroquois Springs, NY.
Lefteris Bournias
Lefteris Bournias has been a clarinetist since the age of 11. While a young child, he remembers sitting on his father's lap (Elias Bournias, a Greek flogera player) and, under the direction of his father, he would bang out rhythms on pillows while listening to Turkish and Greek night club music. When a few years had elapsed and now living in Greece, Lefteris' interest in music was still very strong. Only it was Classic Rock and the bands of the 70's and not the music he would later grow to love and perform. One evening in Athens, while his father was in New York, Lefteris was with his mother, talking and looking at a magazine with electric guitars and electric basses. He then asked his mother, "Mom, can you buy this guitar for me?" While his mother was hesitant at first, she conceded but also offered the idea "Hey, why don't you get a clarinet instead and make your father happy." And Lefteris thought "Clarinet!!! What are you talking about?" It had been some time since his involvement with music that wasn't rock. But almost like a bolt of lightening, the idea stayed with him and that summer he bought his first clarinet.
Lefteris was fortunate to live near a famous gypsy clarinetist, Mr. Vasilis Soukas, and he soon frequented his house for lessons while attending the Athens Conservatory of Music under the guidance of clarinetist Mr. Farandatos. While returning to New York with his family, Lefteris attended the Aaron Copeland School of Music earning a B.A. in Performance, and a Masters of Science in Music Education and attempted a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology (still pending!). Throughout his studies, Lefteris has been performing extensively. So extensively, that at times he would perform two and even three performances daily for weeks on end.
Lefteris has performed and recorded with many highly acclaimed singers and musicians, amongst them, , The New York Pops (under the direction of Skitch Henderson), New York Philarmonic, En hordes, Uri Cane, Charles Genus, Henry Hay, Matt Garisson, Gene Lake, Charles Blesing,Steve Haas, Elektra Ensemble, Nikos and Giasemi Saragoudas, Spiros Exaras Band, Avram Pengas Noga Group, Ara Dinkjian, Uri Yunakoff, Omar Faruk Tekbelik, Okay Temiz, Selim Sesler ,Takis Zaharatos, Hristos Antoniadis, Stathis Aggelopoulos, Eleni Legaki, Nikos Hatzopoulos, Makis Hristodoulopoulos, Pitsa Papadopoulou, Peggy Zina, Doukissa and many more.
As a diverse musician, Lefteris' style combines Greek traditional, Gypsy, Classical, Turkish Gypsy, and elements of Jazz (rhythmical and harmonic).
With a special sound that emanates from his clarinet, he is a wanted man in the recording field and in live festivals, gigs, etc.
Phaedon Sinis specializes in the study and performance of Ottoman music. He plays klasik kemençe / πολίτικη λύρα / lyra of Istanbul, kanun, and yayli tanbur tarhu.
His childhood passion for his father's record collection led him to take up the flute at age 7. Self-taught in reading music, he enrolled at Peabody Prep for three years and was then admitted to the Juilliard School's pre-college division at age 11, where he studied flute, music theory and solfege for seven years.
While studying economics and mathematics at Dartmouth College, Phaedon explored ethnomusicology with Dartmouth professor Ted Levin and attended folk music concerts on campus. Throughout his early twenties, while working in finance in New York City, he continued his musical training, developing an intense interest in the folk music of the eastern Mediterranean. After experimenting with a variety of styles and instruments, he now devotes his energy to kemence and kanun. With the guidance of Dr Munir Nurettin Beken, Sokratis Sinopoulos, and neyzen Ömer Erdogdular, he has developed a solid foundation in Ottoman modal theory (makam) and performance practice.