2nd Piano Conference based on Y. Manessis’ pianistic pedagogy: “Kinesiology and Sound Quality”
The conference – to be held both by physical presence and by teleconference – is based on the piano music pedagogy of Yorgos Manessis that was formed during his years of apprenticeship close to Alice Pashkus.
Coordination:
Yannis Grigorakis
Grigorios Zamparas
Stefanos Theodoridis
Yannis Grigorakis has been the director of the Primary School of the ‘Holy Metropolis of Piraeus’ School, where he teaches music at the Primary school and High school and also conducts the school Choir. He has taught Music Theory (beginners and advanced levels) from 1989 to 2014, he has worked as a choir conductor at the Youth and Children’s Choir at the Municipal Conservatory of Lamia and has led Masterclasses at the International Porto Heli Festival Supporting Culture & the Arts. Since 2014 he has been teaching music at the multi-cultural centre for Sports, Arts and Pre-school Care Center in Elefsina. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Indianapolis (USA) with a specialty in Choir Conducting, as well as a Doctorate in Musicology from the New Bulgarian University. He has a Piano degree from the Synchrono Conservatory of Athens (under Yorgos Manessis) and holds a diploma in classical singing (tenor voice) from the Kodaly Conservatory, under the guidance of Ch. Yannakopoulou.
Grigorios Zamparas is a professor of piano at Tampa University (USA) and has received a plethora of reviews praising his piano recitals, chamber music concerts as well as his appearances as a soloist with various orchestras in Greece, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Russia, Latin America, South Korea and the United States. He studied with Yorgos Manessis and since 1991 he has been a permanent performer and visiting artist at the Porto Heli International Festival, where he has presented more than 200 works. He has recorded Anton Rubinstein’s Five Piano Concertos for “Centaur Records”. He is also a Yamaha Artist.
Stefanos Theodoridis studied piano with Yorgos Manessis with whom he obtained his Diploma with Top Honors and 1st Prize. He has also studied translation in the Hellenic-American Union. He has edited and translated the anthology “Glenn Gould: Reflections on Music” (Nefeli, 2012), and he conducts research on piano pedagogy in connection with the great performers and composers of past and present. He has given speeches and participated in radio shows about Fr. Chopin, Glenn Gould etc. He is the secretary of the International Porto Heli Festival Supporting Culture & The Arts.