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Constantine Koukias

Tasmanian composer and opera director

Constantine Koukias (born 14 October 1965) is a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. He is the co-founder and artistic director of IHOS Music Theatre and Opera, which was established in 1990 in Tasmania's capital city, Hobart.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Constantine Koukias (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Oct 14, 1965.1

About

Koukias's works range from large-scale music theatre and opera to mobile installation art events. His atmospheric compositions are characterised by mesmerising temporal, spatial and production designs, while his recent works exhibit eastern influences. His avant-garde approach to the presentation of opera has resulted in hybrid productions such as Days and Nights with Christ, To Traverse Water, Mikrovion, The Divine Kiss, Tesla – Lightning in His Hand and The Barbarians. His music theatre works include ICON, Kimisis – Falling Asleep, Borders, Orfeo, Rapture – Sonic Taxi Performance, Schwa – The Neutral Vowel, Antigone and The Da Ponte Project.

Koukias was commissioned in 1993 by the Sydney Opera House Trust to compose the large-scale music theatre piece ICON to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House. His Incantation II for soprano and digital delay won the International Valentino Bucchi Vocal Prize in Rome in 1997, and in 2004 he was awarded a Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship.

Prayer Bells, in which the composer draws on traditions of Latin, Hebrew and Byzantine chant, had its US premiere in 2010 at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The Barbarians, which was commissioned by the Museum of Old and New Art and inspired by Constantine Cavafy's poem Waiting for the Barbarians, premiered in Hobart in 2012 as part of the MONA FOMA festival. It was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best New Opera the same year, and Tasmanian company Liminal Spaces won the Event category of Australia's Interior Design Excellence Awards for its conceptualisation of the production's design.

From Wikipedia’s article on Constantine Koukias, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedUniversity of Sydney3
  • Date not recordedTasmanian Conservatorium of Music3
  • Date not recordedSydney Conservatorium of Music3

Koukias studied at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

1979 – 1981 Ian Cugley – Composition, University of Tasmania

1981 – 1985 Johannes Roose – Flute, University of Tasmania

1983 – 1984 Don Kay – Composition, University of Tasmania

1984 – 1985 Michael Cubbin – Flute, University of Tasmania

1984 – 1985 Peter Billam – Composition, University of Tasmania

1985 Keith Humble – Composition, La Trobe University, Melbourne

1985 – 1988 Michael Scott – Flute, NSW Conservatorium of Music

1986 Mark Kopytman – Composition, Rubin University of Jerusalem

1986 Richard David Hames, Composers School, Adelaide

1986 – 1988 Thermos Mexis Greek Instrumentation, Sydney

1986 – 1989 Ross Edwards – Composition, Sydney

From Wikipedia’s article on Constantine Koukias (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: composer.5

Personal life

  • CitizenshipAustralia6

Sources

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