Sky, Send Me a Bird

Looking as far back as the Odyssey, the Greeks have been telling their stories of long-lost time and place through song and verse. The Kombos Collective lovingly captures this deeply Hellenic experience in Sky, Send Me a Bird. Kombos Collective curates pieces by Greek composers whose distant homelands and lost loves are kept aflame through their music. 

Longtime collaborators Ellie Falaris Ganelin (flute) and Mary-Victoria Voutsas (voice and piano) lend their unique voices to this tender playlist incorporating their own compositions and arrangements to the mix. This full-length concert features the music of legends Manos Hadjidakis and Mikis Theodorakis, as well as living composers Christos Hatzis, Evangelos Kokkoris, and Michael Malis. 

The artists will recite selections of Homer and Cavafy that either directly inspired the music or simply capture the mood. There’s such an integral link between literature and music, whether it’s an epic poem or a modern-day pop song.

Salon Tour Dates

May 19 at 7pm | House concert in San Francisco via Groupmuse | Reserve your spot

May 20 at 6pm | Piano Palace, Half Moon Bay | Tickets

May 21 at 4pm | House concert in Berkeley via Groupmuse | Reserve your spot

Program

Words of Grief
Ellie Falaris Ganelin

Pensieri Perduti
Evangelos Kokkoris

Six Popular Pictures, Op. 5 for solo piano
Manos Hadjidakis

I. Cloudy Sunday
II. Lady*
III. A Light Drizzle Broke Out*
IV. The Coach in the Rain*
V. Baxé Tsifliki*
VI. Night Fell Without a Moon

*May 20 only

Departures: “II. Serenity” (May 20 only)
Christos Hatzis

Thimisou Soma (World Premiere)
Michael Malis

INTERMISSION

Paper Moon
Manos Hadjidakis, arr. Mary Voutsas

Omorfi Polis
Mikis Theodorakis, arr. Mary Voutsas

Thalassa Platia
Manos Hadjidakis, arr. Mary Voutsas

Feggari Magia Mou ‘Kanes
Mikis Theodorakis, arr. Michael Malis

Ehe Geia Panageia
Traditional, arr. Ellie Ganelin

Artists

Photo credit: Xilo Photography

Ellie Falaris Ganelin is a flutist and music director who is classically trained and welcomes other traditions into the fold, including jazz, Latin, Balkan and klezmer music. She is active as a performer of chamber and orchestral music in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is committed to making classical music inviting and accessible for all as an ambassador and performer for the Awesöme Orchestra Collective. For the past decade, she has been the director of the Greek Chamber Music Project, which aims to inspire, educate and challenge audiences through innovative programming. Ellie received her B.A. in Music from the University of Maryland, where she also holds a B.A. in Journalism and a Minor in French.

Photo credit: Donnie Riggs

Mary-Victoria Voutsas is a “powerful” and “enthralling pianist” (Washington City Paper). She has toured extensively as a pianist, and as a classical musician she has performed solo at many notable venues including the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage & Terrace Theatre, the Lisner Auditorium, and many embassies. Ms. Voutsas is also the visiting Artist in Residency for Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts and has done accompaniment/ensemble work for the National Symphony Orchestra and artists such as Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alison Krauss. Ms. Voutsas also has experience in harpsichord performance, choral conducting, and prepared piano with Dr. Laurie Hudicek. Ms. Voutsas earned her degrees with concentrations in Piano Performance (M.M.) under Dr. Nikita Fitenko, Pedagogy (B.M.) from Catholic University & American University.  She has performed master classes and recitals for several acclaimed pianists, including Yuri Didenko, Dr. Joseph Banowetz, and Christopher O’Reilly.  In 2015, at the Kennedy Center, she and the Greek Chamber Music Project released the album, “Hellenic Song: A Musical Migration”. The album featured Ms. Voutsas as the first pianist to record the works of Vasily Kalafati. Ms. Voutsas followed up this album release with “The Moon is Red” (2016), a tribute to Manos Hadzidakis’. Both records are available via the Greek Chamber Music Project. 

Ms. Voutsas performed for the Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s birthday celebration, and the inaugural concert of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. She was praised in an article later that her “performance enthralled the listeners making the evening a wonderful tribute”. Ms. Voutsas has been a part of numerous competitions such as the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev Piano Competition, and holds several awards including the Watkins Prize (2011), and Director’s Musician of Achievement (2013) at American University. She has performed as soloist for the Rob Kapilow “What Makes It Great?” program in 2013 accompanied by the Peabody Chamber Orchestra, as well as with the American University Orchestra (2014) conducted by Yaniv Dinur. 

Ms. Voutsas resides in the Washington D.C. area where she performs regularly, teaches piano and theory, and coaches voice.