I am composer, pianist and a novelist. My music marries the dynamic energy of contemporary classical and cinematic music with the meditative character of ambient music and traditional music from Greece and Japan.
I am composer, pianist and a novelist. My music marries the dynamic energy of contemporary classical and cinematic music with the meditative character of ambient music and traditional music from Greece and Japan. My latest work is significantly influenced by the practice of meditation and Zen philosophy. I compose for contemporary classical music but for multimedia music too [short films, animation films].
In February 2019, I was awarded the 3rd Prize and the Public’s 1st Prize at the 7th Molinari String Quartet Composition Competition in Montreal, with my string quartet For Sun’s Light. A year prior, I won the 2nd Prize at the 4th Opus Dissonus International Composition Competition in Brazil for my piano solo On the Vision and The Riddle.
I was also selected as one of the six laureates of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra’s prestigious New Sounds Week Call for Scores in 2022, for my orchestral piece A Mystic Journey. In 2021, I stood out as one of four composers chosen in the Open Call for Young Greek Composers – Israeli Chamber Project, for my work A Glimpse of Autumn, a composition based on haiku poems, a poignant reflection on nature’s fleeting beauty. Most recently, I was selected at the SEED 2024: Virtual Composition Academy to compose a piece for the traditional Japanese instrument sho, commissioned by the academy and sho performer Chatori Shimizu. Performances of my pieces include artists such as Molinari String Quartet, Ergon Ensemble, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, Israeli Chamber Ensemble, Erato Alakiozidou, Marilena Liakopoulou, Alexandra Papachristou, Chatori Shimizu, UofT Percussion Ensemble among others, and I have received commissions from Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, Megaron Music Thessaloniki and Athens Concert Hall.
I hold a Master’s in Composition from the University of Toronto, mentored by the composer Christos Hatzis. In September 2022, I started my Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Composition at the same institution, a path illuminated by a full-tuition scholarship. Prior to my studies in University of Toronto, I studied composition privately for seven years with composer Altin Volaj, and I also several music degrees from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki: Degree in Counterpoint, Degree in Fugue and Diploma in Composition with music theorist and composer Costas Tsougras, and the Degree in Piano Performance with prof. Victoria Victoratou. I am currently a Teaching Assistant at the University of Toronto, where I assist in composition and orchestration, and a freelance composer, receiving commissions from institutions and privately.
Directed and edited: Elizabeth M. Angulo Written and co-directed: Megane Vermette Music: Menelaos Peistikos, soundtrack "The Valse of Contemplation" for solo piano Starring Megane Vermette and Anna Scheidler 1st Assistant Director: Noura Shammas Director of Photography: Juan Ignacio Checa Diaz Second Camera Operator: Samantha Montes Sound: Anna Scheidler Choreographer: Elizabeth M. Angulo Art by: August Clot
"Echo Lontano" is a solo piano piece written in spring 2020. It is commissioned by Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra and MOMus (Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki). The piece is composed for the purpose of framing a modern exhibition at the MOMus which illustrates fine art in the style of comics from several contemporary greek sketch artists. These sketches depict specific events of manifestation of racism and violence against social minorities and protesters in Greece caused by the neo-nazi political party "Golden Dawn" and attempt to decry and critisize these actions and fight neo-nazism, nationalism and racism in Greece. The motive of the exhibition is "Put an X in Golden Dawn". "Echo Lontano" is was premiered and videotaped inside this exhibition. In my opinion, the combination of Art and violence in the museum hall consist of a double paradox. First, there is an internal contrast in the sketches; on the one hand, they are esthetically pleasing while on the other hand, they depict violence, neo-nazism and racism which is something abhorrent and censurable. Secondly, the hall of the museum is white and minimal and has a peaceful atmosphere, totally in contrast with the sketches on its walls. I perceive this exhibition as an attempt to confront violence with peace and the power of Art. My aim was to reprove violence by bringing its opposite; peace and its beauty. However, when I watched closely at these sketches, I thought of the impact that the violent assaults of "Golden Dawn" members have on the mental state of the victims and I concluded that violence is something that is difficult to be easily forgotten. Beyond its stigmas on their physical health, its effects are still present on the psychological health of the victims. Violence does not outweigh peace in "Echo Lontano". There are only small fragments of it, dissonant and mechanical in their presence. Hope and peace are the cure which tries to extinguish violence making it look only like a distant echo.
Menelaos Peistikos performs his composition “Tango Nostalgico” (2014) for solo piano.
Shot and edited by Yeoryia Edirneli
Recorded at Cue Production Studios by Yannis Mavridis, Thessaloniki, June 2024
CHIAROSCURO
« Man is the only creature who refuses to be what she is. »
Directed by Alayna Simonds
Composition by Menelaos Peistikos [“Deserts” for solo cello, performed by Efstratia Chaloulakou]
Cinematography by Liz M. Angulo
Written by Martina Rossi, Mégane Vermette & Alayna Simonds
Edited by Mégane Vermette & Alayna Simonds
Color corrected by Alayna Simonds & Mégane Vermette
Sound by Ginevra Pasi & Samantha Montes
Directed and edited: Elizabeth M. Angulo
Written and co-directed: Megane Vermette
Music: Menelaos Peistikos, soundtrack “The Valse of Contemplation” for solo piano
Starring Megane Vermette and Anna Scheidler
1st Assistant Director: Noura Shammas
Director of Photography: Juan Ignacio Checa Diaz
Second Camera Operator: Samantha Montes
Sound: Anna Scheidler
Choreographer: Elizabeth M. Angulo
Art by: August Clot
Assistant at Larysa Kuzmenko’s Orchestration course for undergraduate students at the University of Toronto Assisting in organization, grading assignments and lecturing about orchestration.
Assistant at Larysa Kuzmenko’s Introduction to Composition course for undergraduate students at the UofT Assisting in organization, grading assignments and lecturing about composition.
3rd Prize and 1st Prize of Public for the string quartet composition “For Sun’s Light”, premiered at Conservatory of Montreal, Canada, by Molinari String Quartet.
2ND Prize for the solo piano composition “On the Vision and the Riddle”, premiered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by pianist Artur Cimirro.
One of the four winners at the panhellenic Open Call for Composers 2021 organized by Israeli Cultural Foundation (supported by Stavros Niarchos Foundation) along with Hellenic Composers Association and Israeli Chamber Project. Premiere of “A glimpse of Autumn” for chamber ensemble.
Premiere of “Echoes of Nostalgia”, for classical kemenche and Ergon ensemble Classical Kemenche: Sokratis Sinopoulos, Conductor: Iakovos Konitopoulos
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