Dinos Constantinides
Composition
The music of Greek born composer Dinos Constantinides (Boyd Professor of Composition) has been performed throughout the world. He is the recipient of many grants, commissions and awards, including first prizes in the 1981 Brooklyn College International Chamber Competition, the 1985 First Midwest Chamber Opera Conference, and the 1997 Delius composition Contest Grand Prize. He also received the 1985 American New Music consortium Distinguished Service Award, the 1989 Glen Award of l'Ensemble of New York, several Meet the Composer grants and numerous ASCAP Standard Awards. In 1994 he was honored with a Distinguished Teacher White House commission on Presidential Scholars.
He has received rave reviews for his orchestral music performed by symphony orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphony (China), the Bohuslav Martinu Chamber Orchestra, the Black Sea Philharmonic (Romania), Filarmonica "Oltenia" of Craiova, Romania, the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra and the New Orleans Philharmonic. Other performances and recordings (over 40 CDs) have been done by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra of Bratislava, the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, the Ruse Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria,the Dubrovnik Symphony, the Czech Moravian Philharmonic, the Memphis Symphony, the Ku Ming Symphony (China), the Rome Festival Orchestra, the Prism Orchestra of New York, the Polish Radio and TV Orchestra of Krakow, Poland and other numerous orchestras in the U.S.A., Australia and Taiwan, Cyprus State Orchestra, as well as in Greece by the Thessaloniki State Orchestra and the Athens State Orchestra.
Evaluators and critics have praised his music.
"Constantinides' Symphony (No. 2) is a splendid work-an eclectic blend of styles that effortlessly coheres, and produces a highly satisfying synthesis unique to this composer. I have encountered the music of Dinos Constantinides before. He is currently Boyd Professor at Louisiana State University. His Concerto of Psalms alone makes this offering (new recording) worth acquiring. Its harmonic language and orchestration are stunning and his ethnically Greek flavors are impossible to resist. Its journey from start to finish proceeds with a sureness of both technical and affective control that makes the trip a musical odyssey that far transcends its modest time parameters… parsimonious and powerful."
Fanfare Magazine“His 1977 setting of the text by Sophocles, the Lament of Antigone, in a New York premiere, proved a solemn, impassioned utterance…” “(His music possesses) an attractive quality of ritual mystery.” The New York Times
"LSU composer scores with his Antigone, every composer of opera should have such a send-off, which in this case included a standing ovation.
The Times-Picayune New Orleans, Louisiana"On first hearing one was struck by the beauty of much of the choral writing…complex and often arresting score."
Opera, London, England"Antigone is both powerful and beautiful."
Teresa Stratas"There are many fascinating details…I am much impressed."
Ernst Krenek"The music of the Greek-American composer Dinos Constantinides seduced the listeners with its unusual warmth and sincerity. His Midnight Fantasy was a praise to mystery."
Cuget Liber, Romania"Dedications for Orchestra is a jewel."
Telegraf, Constanta, Romania"Homage to Kromeriz was full of emotion, quiet depth and passionate tension too."
Jan Grossmann, University of Ostrava-Czech Republic
As the Director of the prestigious Louisiana State University Festival of Contemporary Music for 22 years, Constantinides presented the top composers of the continent including Carlos Chávez, John Cage, Milton Babbitt, Karel Husa, and Ernst Krenek among others.
He has written over 230 compositions, most of them published, for all mediums including his opera Intimations winner of two Awards, his opera Antigone and six symphonies of which the 2nd Symphony earned him the Artist of the Year Award of Louisiana.
Constantinides has served on the Board of Directors of many national societies in the U.S.A., including the Society of Composers (SCI), College Music Society, National Composers of U.S.A. and Music Teacher National Association (MTNA). He is a member of ASCAP and has been an evaluator for the MacArthur Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
He was educated in Greece at the Ioannina, Greek, and Athens Conservatories and in the USA at the universities of Indiana, Michigan State and the Juilliard School. His teachers included Tony Schultze, Marios Varvoglis, Yannis Papaioannou, Leda Kouroukli, Olga Menjou, George Lykoudis, Ivan Galamian, Dorothy DeLay and Josef Gingold. Constantinides was a member of the violin section of the State Orchestra of Athens in Greece for over 10 years, and played in the Indianapolis Symphony and Baton Rouge Symphony (Concertmaster) in the USA for many years.
He is presently Boyd Professor, the highest academic rank at Louisiana State University, head of the Composition area, and Music Director of the Louisiana Sinfonietta.
Dinos Constantinides, Ph. D., Boyd Professor
School of Music
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-2504
Voice: 225/578-4010
Fax: 225/578-2562
Voice: 225/766-3487 (home)
Fax 225/767-7803
E-mail: cconsta@bellsouth.net or cconsta@lsu.edu.
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