A Unique Concert About "Songs of the Greek Cinema"

On Friday, May 1, 2009 at 9pm, the historic Town Hall Theatre in Manhattan, New York will turn Greek again to host AKTINA’s annual concert from the series GREEK MUSIC JOURNEY (est. 1994). This one of a kind concert presented for the first time in New York, will feature the popular singer from Greece Melina Aslanidou in a tribute to “The Songs Of Greek Cinema”.

Against a backdrop of videos, Melina Aslanidou accompanied by singer Vangelis Douvalis and her orchestra comprised by bouzouki maestros Manolis Georgostathis and Aris Koukos and 6 other representative and talented musicians, will treat lovers of Greek popular-folk and rembetika (Greek blues) to a special and unique musical tribute to the everlasting songs which evolved from great and award winning Greek movies such as “Never On Sunday”, “Zorba The Greek”, “Rembetiko”, “Stella” and many others by great composers and songwriters such as Theodorakis, Hadjidakis, Xarhakos, Plessas, Hiotis, Vamvakaris, Tsitsanis, Zambetas among many others.

Ticket prices start at $45 and are now on sale through AKTINA FM at 718-545-1151, Ticketmaster at 212-307-4100 and the Greek Music & Video in Astoria 718-932-8400. The Town Hall Theatre is located at 123 West 43rd Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, NY and it’s easily accessible by car or by train. It is also wheelchair accessible and special seating is available for the handicapped. This unique theatre with great acoustics features two levels, the main orchestra on the main level the loge and the balcony on the second level. The view of the performance stage is equally great from any level in this 1,400-seat theatre and guests will enjoy the performers from any level, as well as the videos which will be shown on a very large screen on the stage.

Popular to this day, “The Songs Of Greek Cinema” comprise a very important and representative aspect of the Greek music repertoire. The songs of Greek Cinema have also contributed in introducing some of the finest composers, songwriters, musicians and singers of Greece while over the years these songs were also an inspiration for the new generations involved in the Greek music scene and industry. Many of these songs along with their creators and singers are also credited for spreading Greek music beyond the boundaries of Greece as they comprised important musical themes of several award winning English-speaking Greek movies seen and very much appreciated worldwide.

With an impressive career in live performances and discography spanning over 10 years, Melina Aslanidou is one of the most representative popular-folk and rembetika singers of the new generation of “quality” singers in Greece. She rose high in the ranks of the Greek music repertoire very early on in her career and she is credited for bringing back to fame the song from the Greek Cinema “ Ti Sou Kana Ke Pinis” which was released in 2001 on the cd “To Parelthon Thimithika” when she was collaborating as a lead singer for the music group “Oi Apenanti”.

GREEK MUSIC JOURNEY concert series was introduced by AKTINA Productions, Inc., in 1994 with a purpose to promote and preserve all aspects of the representative traditional, folk, popular-folk and contemporary music of Greece in America, including the rembetika. Since 2006 the series exclusively features singers and musicians from Greece who are very well known and very much respected for their many contributions to Greek music through their discography and live performances. Each new concert which takes place every May with a permanent home the historic Town Hall Theatre in Manhattan, is dedicated to a specific music theme. Recent sold out performances include the Concert/Tribute To George Zambetas With Kostas Makedonas (May 2007) and the Concert/Tribute To Great Greek Composers – From Markos Vamvakaris To Manos Loizos With Manolis Mitsias (May 2008).

For more information please call 718-545-1151 or visit www.aktina.org