ABOUT John Psathas

COMPOSITION SESSION TITLE: Forgetting the Instrument: The Freedoms and Limitations of Being a Non-Percussionist When Composing for Percussionists

ELECTRONIC/TECHNOLOGY SESSION TITLE: Innovation of New Works and Technology in Percussion Repertoire
Presenting with Fabian Ziegler

New Zealand–Greek composer Ioannis (John) Psathas has a history of large-scale collaborative projects (such as writing for the ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and collaborating with iconic artists such as Salman Rushdie, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Serj Tankian, Oum, and many others). John’s output has focused particularly on percussion, having collaborated with, and written for, Evelyn Glennie, Fabian Ziegler, Michael Burritt, Alexej Gerassimez, Pedro Carneiro, Svet Stoyanov, Ju Percussion Group, Omar Carmenates, Brian West, Vagelis Karipis, Bijan Chemirani, Repercussion, and many others. Following three decades of creating works for traditional ensembles the nature of John’s work has now shifted into a space of urgent social commentary, combining a range of live performance formats and technologies. Having collaborated in electronica, pop, classical, jazz, and multi-ethnic projects, he is now weaving these strands into new work that integrates virtuosic live performance with video, text, and cinematic soundscapes.