music /
The Trio Tessera * - Women’s A Cappella Polyphonic Vocal Ensemble
— founding member
One Sunday morning, in the spring of 2022, three women gathered with a love of music and the sound of voices coming together. The group of amateur and professional musicians quickly grew to four core members, with a voice for each major vocal range, and over the course of several months integrated guest musicians, conductors and composers.
At the suggestion of some of the members, they began with Tschaikovsky’s ‘Morning Prayer’ and ‘My Heart is Offered Still To You’ (attributed to Orlande De Lassus) and their repertoire now includes folk, classical, madrigals, rock, jazz standards, and other pieces which express the beauty and truth in our hearts and minds.
The vocal ensemble’s debut was as a trio and part of an international concert in Kapsali Bay on the small island of Kythira. They sang part of an ‘Imaginary Suite’ (an experimental version of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’) composed by the island’s Marching Band conductor and head of the Philharmonic, Panayiotis Leftheris.
The next year, an expanded version of the group, The Trio Tessera Okto*, performed the Bulgarian folk song ‘Kaval Sviri’; considered a cultural treasure, it describes the pure joy and passion we feel when our heart is touched so deeply that we can fall in love with even a sound. Conducted by Danai Loukidi, most of the eight members had no prior music training or professional singing experience. On World Music Day (also known as ‘Make Music Day’) that same year, The Trio Tessera Exi* collaborated with the local Philharmonic of Kythira and gave a performance near a village square, singing in the archway of the Cultural Center while the band played across the street.
The Trio Tessera* now has six, seven, and sometimes more than eight singers; like any living organism it expands, contracts, and adapts to the enivronment and within different contexts.
---
References:
-Neurobiological Effects of Music on the Brain
-The Universality of Music
-What makes experiencing live music special?
-The well-being effects of learning and playing music (and knitting!)
— founding member
One Sunday morning, in the spring of 2022, three women gathered with a love of music and the sound of voices coming together. The group of amateur and professional musicians quickly grew to four core members, with a voice for each major vocal range, and over the course of several months integrated guest musicians, conductors and composers.
At the suggestion of some of the members, they began with Tschaikovsky’s ‘Morning Prayer’ and ‘My Heart is Offered Still To You’ (attributed to Orlande De Lassus) and their repertoire now includes folk, classical, madrigals, rock, jazz standards, and other pieces which express the beauty and truth in our hearts and minds.
The vocal ensemble’s debut was as a trio and part of an international concert in Kapsali Bay on the small island of Kythira. They sang part of an ‘Imaginary Suite’ (an experimental version of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’) composed by the island’s Marching Band conductor and head of the Philharmonic, Panayiotis Leftheris.
The next year, an expanded version of the group, The Trio Tessera Okto*, performed the Bulgarian folk song ‘Kaval Sviri’; considered a cultural treasure, it describes the pure joy and passion we feel when our heart is touched so deeply that we can fall in love with even a sound. Conducted by Danai Loukidi, most of the eight members had no prior music training or professional singing experience. On World Music Day (also known as ‘Make Music Day’) that same year, The Trio Tessera Exi* collaborated with the local Philharmonic of Kythira and gave a performance near a village square, singing in the archway of the Cultural Center while the band played across the street.
The Trio Tessera* now has six, seven, and sometimes more than eight singers; like any living organism it expands, contracts, and adapts to the enivronment and within different contexts.
---
References:
-Neurobiological Effects of Music on the Brain
-The Universality of Music
-What makes experiencing live music special?
-The well-being effects of learning and playing music (and knitting!)
photo credit unknown
---
Related Link:
‘Imaginary Suite’ - The Trio Tessera performance video, 2022
2023: The Trio Tessera Exi* - World Music Day / The Trio Tessera Okto*
photo credit: Natsa Mountano / photo credit: Manos Skalidakis (frame from video)
---
2024: Repertoire
‘Ksenitia tou Erota’ by Giorgos Kalogirou (traditional Cypriot tune)
‘Militsa pou se ston Kremo’ - traditional song from Thrace arranged by Danai Loukid
‘I got Rhythm’ by George and Ira Gershwin - SSAA arranged by Dorothy Horn