Cypriot composer wins international prize

CYPRIOT composer Andys Skordis won first prize at the International Composition competition for piano quintet 2015 which took place in Gwangiu, South Korea.

His piece ‘17…why not 37?’ received the first prize along with Tak Cheung Hui from Hong Kong, and was awarded by ISCM Korea and Asia Cultural Centre during the festival Symphony for Asia.

Andys Skordis was born in 1983. He studied composition in the USA and the Netherlands, with additional studies in Karnatic music and traditional Indonesian Gamelan music at the university in Denpasar, the biggest town in Bali.

He was awarded the Buma Toonzetters prize 2012, naming him the most important composer in the Netherlands for that year, and first and second prizes in competitions held by the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. He has composed operas, symphonic works, chamber music, music for ballet, oratorio, dance and film.

Among his compositions is the contemporary opera ‘Ra…Patsia…Ou’, written entirely in the Cypriot dialect which was executed at the Cyprus Kypria 2016 festival by nine musicians and featured electronic elements and pre-recorded Gamelan music.