GALAN TRIO

Known for the passionate and energetic spirit of their performances, the Athens-based Galan Trio is active both in Greece and internationally. Focused primarily on presenting new compositions, the trio creates original programs, the most recent being Kinesis. For this project, Galan Trio commissioned five distinguished composers from the United States to write works on this theme, leading to their first tour in October 2021. Since then, they have presented Kinesis at more than 30 U.S. universities, with additional performances scheduled through fall 2025.

Galan Trio’s discography now includes seven albums: Switch (Akanthos Int. LTD), Sonnets of Midwinter, Ararat (Melism Records), Kinesis and Kinesis Vol.2 (Neuma Records), De Chirico (Phasma Music), and Embrace (Neuma Records).

Their debut album, Switch—a musical blend of cultures featuring works composed for and dedicated to the trio by Thomas Bramel (USA), David Haladjian (Armenia), Vincent Kennedy (Ireland), Vasco Pereira (Portugal), Harald Weiss (Germany), and Nikos Xanthoulis (Greece) received critical acclaim and was broadcast on radio stations in Greece, Switzerland, the United States, Portugal, Germany, and Armenia.

In July 2016, the ensemble traveled to Gulangyu, China, known as "Piano Island" for Greek Inspirations in China, the first festival in the country dedicated to Greek music. Galan Trio has collaborated with accomplished composers and musicians, including mezzo-soprano Alexandra Gravas, flutist Jessica Quinones, and composers Dirk Brosse, Igor Vorobyov, Yiorgos Vassilandonakis, Paul Richards, Arthur Aharonian, Martin Gendelman, Philip Blackburn, Patricia Alessandrini, and Richard Lavenda, among others.

In 2019, the trio composed and recorded the original soundtrack for the documentary Y1: Silence of the Deep, directed by Philippos Vardakas. Schott Editions published Secret Dancing by Harald Weiss, dedicated to the trio. Galan Trio has performed in the USA, Spain, Italy, Armenia, the Netherlands, and Greece, appearing at prestigious events such as the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the Komitas Festival, the 4th online festival of the Greek National Opera, the Onassis Foundation "Open Day", and the Athens Megaron "Music Portraits" series. In December 2021, they premiered their project Ararat at the Archaeological Museum of Athens. Recently they performed for the first time in Mozarteum as guests performers in "Mikrotöne:Small is Beautiful" Symposium in Salzburg.

Future plans include the project Women in Front in collaboration with "New York Women Composers Association", as well as the 9th edition of the Kinesis concert series in Tennessee.

Babis Karasavvidis

Babis Karasavvidis is a violinist whose musicianship was evident from an early age. He studied violin in Athens, Greece, and he graduated from V. Halapsis’ class, receiving his diploma with the highest distinction. He continued his studies at the University of Indianapolis-Athens Campus, where he obtained the Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance in 2010.

His passion for learning led him to attend masterclasses with great pedagogues such as S. Kravtchenko and E. Grach. Among his most important achievements are prizes in international violin competitions in Cremona, Paris and Moscow.

Karasavvidis’ orchestral career started at a young age. He has been a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Davos Festival Camerata and the Greek-Turkish Youth Orchestra. The world-class youth orchestras under the baton of world leading conductors such as V. Ashkenazy, G. Noseda and K. Urbanski provided him with valuable experience. By now, Karasavvidis has cooperated with some of the most important Greek Orchestras (National Opera of Greece, Athens State Orchestra, Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, Armonia Atenea etc.).

Chamber music plays an important role in his musical life as well. Ionian Festival Ensemble, Aurora Quartet and Yannis Papadopoulos Trio are some of the ensembles that Karasavvidis has collaborated with. His musical activity also includes projects with Greek contemporary composers; “At-tonal” and “Inside Me” are recent examples of him recording Greek composers’ works. Since September 2018 he is a member of Galan Trio.

Marina Kolovou

Marina Kolovou, following her family tradition began her cello studies at the age of six. She studied next to great teachers and soloists in the Conservatory of Athens (N. Kotzias and D. Gouzios) and in the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (M. Mostert) until 2008 where she started her professional career. Her love for music took her close to M. Strauss, D. Ferschtman, V.Despalj, E.Rijseger (jazz improvisation) and other great cellists of our time, from whom she took lessons.

Marina’s distinctions in panhellenic competitions such as “Techni’s National Cello Concours”, lead her to a soloistic career in Greece, Germany and Canada. She has played under the baton of conductors such as V. Petrenko, V. Ashkenazy, C. Kolovos, C. Trikolidis, C. Escher. She has travelled to Japan, China, Austria, Germany, Italy, Greece, Canada for concerts and has represented Greece in two of the major youth orchestras of the world (EUYO, GMJO).

At the time she returned from her studies in Holland, financed with a scholarship of the National Institute of Scholarships, to her motherland, she became guest solo cellist of the Greek National Opera (2009-2015) and cooperated with the "Athens State Orchestra”. She still works at the G.N.O. She is member of the “Ionian Festival Ensemble” which is specialized in contemporary music. She has given chamber music concerts in Greece and Holland with C. Kolovos, T. Gouvelis, F. Mortzos and L. Ramou.

J. Svolos wrote for Marina Kolovou on Eleftherotypia newspaper: […] “Congenially fluid and light for the weightless, dramatically conventional stigma of the piece, her playing was characterized by precision, sinewy but never too sharp articulation, tone purity and proper singing coherence”.

Petros Bouras

Petros Bouras was born in Athens, Greece. At the age of seven he began his piano studies and in 2006 he received his diploma from the Musical Horizons Conservatory with exceptional grade. On July 2006 he attended classes in the International Summer Musical Academy of Alsace (Musicalta), while on November of the same year, after audition, he was accepted by Trinity College of Music for a Master on Performing in the class of Professor Yonty Solomon. Since then, he has attended various seminars by great piano soloists such as France Clidat, Ivo Pogorelich and Bernard Ringeissen.

He has given plenty of concerts, including piano concerto with the Greek National Orchestra in Megaron, Athens Music Hall, and personal recitals in various halls, such as Palais de Beaux Arts (Brussels), Halles de Schaerbeek (Brussels), Salle Philarmonique de Liege (Liege), Kopleff Hall (Atlanta), St Mary’s Church (Cornwall), Parnassos Music Hall and Goethe Institut (Athens). On July 2016, he became the first Greek pianist who performed on Gulangyu, the piano island of China, giving four concerts of different repertoire.

In 2014 he met the well-known Mezzo Soprano Alexandra Gravas in Brussels and they started giving concerts together all round the world.

He has been always interested in expressing himself through different kinds of music. Therefore, he became a member of the Oticons Orchestra and Ensemble, whereby he has performed with musicians as the composer Shigeru Umebayashi and the conductor Dirk Brosse. Moreover, since 2015 he works with the famous American Tango Flutist Jessica Quiñones and they have performed as a duet in various places, mainly in England. He is a member of StarWound, one of the most well-known Anglophone Greek bands, which introduced the music genre of ‘rock cabaret’ in Greece. StarWound are about to have their first European Tour in March 2017. 

He has collaborated to deliver performances with production such as Lorca's Blood Wedding and The Sin of My Motherin venues such as the Athens Karolos Koun Art Theatre. He has worked as an accompanist of the Ballet Company of the Greek National Opera.