Watermelon Stories | An Evening of Armenian Music, Song and Storytelling
We are delighted to invite you to Watermelon Stories | An Evening of Armenian Music, Song and Storytelling, taking place on Monday, December 2, 2024, at Traverso Art Theatre.
Shushan Kerovpyan – vocals, percussion
Iakovos Moysiadis – bağlama, lafta
James Wylie – kamancheh, gheychak
Aigli Katsiki – storytelling
A journey into the mythical and magical world of Armenian tradition through the melodies of Anatolia, the songs of the musician and poet Sayat Nova (18th century), and the narration of beloved Armenian folktales.
Already familiar to Thessaloniki audiences, Iakovos Moysiadis and James Wylie join Shushan Kerovpyan, a member of a renowned Armenian family of musicians, as she guides us through the melodies of her childhood. Aigli Katsiki, actress of the State Theatre of Northern Greece, active across Greece and Europe, will transport us through the storytelling of traditional tales.
The Artists
Shushan Kerovpyan
Born in Paris into a family of musicians, Shushan Kerovpyan was introduced from an early age to the music of Armenia and the Middle East. She learned Armenian modal singing through oral transmission from her parents, Aram and Virginia Kerovpyan. She has also been a founding member of Collectif Medz Bazar since 2012.
With roots extending to the Americas, she has been influenced by American folk and soul music, as well as musical traditions from Latin America, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East—musical worlds that have shaped her life in Paris.
She performs with Collectif Medz Bazar (French-Armenian-Turkish ensemble), The Circle Orchestra (Greek music), Akn Ensemble (Armenian sacred music), and Kerovpyan Ensemble (Armenian traditional music), while also collaborating with a variety of other projects. For the past two years, she has worked regularly with musicians from the Greek traditional music scene.
James Wylie
James Wylie grew up in Wellington, New Zealand, graduated from the New England Conservatory in Boston in 2010, and moved to Berlin in 2011.
He has performed and recorded with artists including Aynur Doğan, Gunther Schuller, Hayden Chisholm, Max Andrzejewski, Ziad Rajab, Dine Doneff, Thymios Atzakas, Antonis Anissegos, Michalis Siganidis, Siamak Jahangiri, Sam Rivers, Anthony Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Jonathan Crayford and many others, appearing in major concert halls around the world.
Since 2012 he has been based in Thessaloniki, Greece, where he works as a musician and composer while studying the music traditions of Greece, Iran, Turkey and the wider Middle East. He studies the Iranian kamancheh with Sina Danesh and leads his own ensembles: Lost Cities, Alive and Well, and People of the Wind.
Iakovos Moysiadis
Iakovos Moysiadis was born and raised in Ptolemaida, Greece. Music played a central role in his life from an early age, as both his family environment and the broader refugee community of the region introduced him to the musical traditions of Greece, the Balkans, Pontus and the Eastern Mediterranean.
His engagement with the plucked string instruments of the lute family has become his primary means of expressing this deeply personal relationship with music, while also serving as a vehicle for composition, contemporary creation and experimentation.
He is a graduate of the Department of Music Studies at the Ionian University, specializing in Music Pedagogy and Psychology of Music (Integrated Bachelor & Master), and holds a Master's degree in Musical Arts from the Department of Music Science and Art at the University of Macedonia, specializing in Greek Musical Traditions: Performance of Three-Course Bouzouki. He also holds a second Bachelor's degree from the same department in Lute Performance. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Music Studies of the University of Ioannina.
Since 2010 he has been active as both a performer and educator. Based in Thessaloniki, he is a founding member of TheDraw Quartet, Almost Trio, Leftokarya, Zygia Politiki, Amonte, and Antonis Dalgas Tribute. He is currently preparing his first solo album of original compositions and has previously collaborated with ensembles such as the Mediterranean Music Orchestra, 24 GRADA and the Stathis Arabatzis Quartet. He has participated in recordings, documentaries, radio and television productions, festivals and theatre performances, appearing extensively in Greece and abroad.
Traverso Art Theatre
The Traverso Workshop of Applied Performing Arts has kept its doors open since 1996 to artistic collaborations and residencies that encourage participation, empowerment, interaction and new ways of experiencing art and life within the city.
Event Information
Suggested arrival time: 21:00 – Welcome gathering and serving of wine and herbal tea
Concert starts: 21:30
Ticket price: €12 (includes wine or herbal tea)
Address: 8 Spartis Street, Faliro, Thessaloniki
Production: olipoli – Community of Music Practice & Research
Information: info@olipoli.gr | +30 698 438 3153
We look forward to welcoming you!
