By Maria Gregoriou
There is a treat awaiting rock and pop fans on Sunday in Paphos when the Papageorgio String Quartet will perform with guest singer Filippos Constantinos (formerly with the Greek band One).
The quartet plays some very well-known rock and pop songs as you have never heard them before, as behind the violins and cello is a great classical music influence.
Artists covered include Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Queen, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Guns n Roses and many more.
To establish their dedication to classic rock, and leave their mark on the music scene, the four members, Constantin Papageorgio, Iraklis Mitellas, Nikolas Papageorgiou and Gurhan Nuray, released their first album entitled A Tribute to the Classic Rock.
The album, which contains covers of The Scorpions, The Eagles, Queen, Europe, Alice Cooper, Metallica and more such big names, was exclusively composed from the ensemble.
According to the quartet’s website the album is meant to “present the songs with their original structure and harmony providing at the same time the rich colours of a string quartet”.
These rich colours are brought to life by four musicians who are very serious about the music they make.
Papageorgio is a violinist, composer and arranger from Nicosia. He studied Violin and Clarinet at the National Conservatoire of Cyprus and from 1988 to 1991 he led the Cyprus Youth Orchestra.
As a composer Papageorgio has won awards at the Arklow International Music Festival in Ireland in 2004 and at the Ivan Spassov Composers Competition in Bulgaria.
His compositions have been performed both in Europe and America.
Violinist Mitellas began to study the violin at the age of four and his teachers soon realised he was exceptionally talented. From a very early age he participated actively in orchestras, and radio and television programmes.
He was an active and leading member of the State Youth Orchestra with which he performed a number of works as a soloist.
He represented Cyprus in the Mediterranean State Youth Orchestra and also his country at the Musiques Vivantes de Mediterranée in Marseille in1993.
Papageorgiou, also a violinist, started violin lessons at the age of six at Ethnikon Odeion in Nicosia. At the age of 16 he began viola lessons. He was a member of the Cyprus Youth Orchestra and led the viola section for six years.
In 2006 he finished his studies in the UK, obtaining a masters degree in Viola performance from the Northern Royal College of Music in Manchester.
Cello player Nuray from Nicosia is a graduate of the Hacettepe University Ankara Conservatory. In 2005 he received a scholarship from the Apple Hill organisation and went to the USA to pursue a number of musical projects.
Since 2009 he has been performing with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra as an extra player and he is still the cello section leader at the Nicosia Turkish Municipality Orchestra.
The concert on Sunday will start at 8pm, doors will open at 7pm and you can get your tickets from the Tala Council Office, Visteria Kiosk in Tala, or on the door on the night.
Papageorgio String Quartet
Live performance by the alternative pop and rock band. September 20. Tala Amphitheatre, Paphos. 8.30pm. €10. Tel: 99-143105
