Michalis Katachanas
Violist • Improviser • Composer • Educator
"The Third Duty is a wild unbridled statement from the multitalented Michalis Katachanas.
A history of surprise. A mixture of the earth and the surreal"
Ran Blake
short CV
Michalis Katachanas was born in Piraeus in 1979. He is a violist improviser supporting different musical genres - Jazz, Contemporary, Traditional Greek , Classical - composer and educator. At the age of eight he took his first classical violin lessons from Kostas Kavakos. He graduated from the Experimental Music Highschool of Pallini. He holds a Bachelor degree in Music from the Ionian University (GR) under the supervision of Dimos Dimitriadis and a Masters degree in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory in Boston (USA), after receiving a scholarship from the Fulbright Foundation. He has been a student of Charlie Banakos and Ran Blake.
As a professional musician, he has collaborated with various composers and musicians, among others, Jackie Leven, Antony Coleman, Joe Morris, Nikos Xydakis, Nikos Papdogiorgos, Theodor Mirisclavos, Mimis Plessas and as a composer, he has created Michalis Katachanas Quartet which is inspired by the sound of modern European jazz in combination with the Mediterranean and Balkans music . He also composes and plays music for the theater. He has participated in numerous concerts and festivals and presented his work in diverse venues worldwide.
He has recorded two personal albums: Murderess and The Third Duty and participated as a sideman in many recordings in Greece and abroad.
Since 2014, he is a faculty teacher at the Jazz Department of the Athens Conservatoire. He has also worked as a music teacher in public elementary schools in Athens, shaping his own pedagogical method of conducting a modern children’s chorus and improvising by producing on the spot impressive soundscapes, using sounds from nature and everyday life. In 2018 she collaborated with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre and the Greek National Opera, in the framework of the public educational programmes of the Stavros Niarchos Park. Since 2022 he has been orhestrating the repertoire of the "Orchestra Violione" in Greek traditional music and rebetiko of the gramophone period, under the direction of Giannis Zarias, Assistant Professor of Violin at the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia.
detailed CV
Academic Studies
09/2008 - 05/2010
MA in Contemporary Improvisation | Grade: Excellent (9.7/10)
New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, U.S.A
Post graduation project: a concert with original compositions
Primary Lessons with:
• Charlie Banakos | Bebop Language, Ear Training
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Ran Blake | Contemporary Improvisation, Ear Training
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Antony Coleman | Contemporary Improvisation
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Tanya Kalmanovich | Jazz Viola
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Martha Katz | Classical Viola
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Hankus Netsky | Ear Training
-
Frank Calberg | Jazz Composition
10/1998 - 02/2007
BA in Music Studies | Grade: 8.23/10
Ionian University Corfu, Greece
Graduation project: a concert with original compositions entitled “The Viola in Jazz: Composition and Performance”
09/1990 - 06/1996 Music High school of Palinni
Scholarships
03/2010
Gerodelis Foundation
01/2010
New England Conservatory Merit Award
06/2009
New England Conservatory
06/2008
New England Conservatory
03/2008
Fulbright Foundation in Greece
Seminars
2010
New England Conservatory hosting Paul Desmond
2009
New England Conservatory hosting Dave Holland
2006
IASJ Annual International Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A
2005
Summer Jazz Academy, Ionian University | Michail Hagigeorgiou, Stephan Galad
2004
Summer Jazz Academy, Ionian University | Katchie Kartright, Michail Hagigeorgiou
Ionian University hosting Gunter Zomer
Artistic Experience
During his undergraduate studies he was a member of various ensembles performing music of many different genres: Baroque, Chamber music, Contemporary music of the 20th century, Greek Traditional music, Jazz and Free Improvisation. He was a member of the Symphonic Orchestra of the Ionian University | conductor: Miltos Logiadis, the Ionian Jazz ensemble 2 under the supervision of professor Dimos Dimitriadis, and the Free Improvisation Ensemble. During his postgraduate studies he performed in many concerts either participating in projects of his schoolmates or collaborating with Ran Blake, Jerry Bergonzi, Allan Chase, Antony Coleman, Joe Morris, David Harris, Christian Wolf and others. After his graduate studies and since his return to Athens he has founded 2 Jazz quartets under his name playing original compositions, one quartet under the name “Freκadela”, experimenting throughout the boundaries of Greek Music, the Frog String Quartet performing Jazz and Balkan music.
Professional Experience
Michail Katachanas has been working as a professional musician since he was 17 years old, playing Greek Traditional, Balkan, Classical, Jazz , Contemporary and Improvised music.
He has collaborated as a soloist with: Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Martha Fritzila, Nikos Xidakis, Jackie Leven, Joe Morris, Antony Coleman, Maurice El Medioni, and others and has participated in numerous concerts in Greece and abroad (USA, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, England, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Austria, Morocco, Turkey, Chile).
In 2012 Michalis Katachanas founded his own Quartet, performing original compositions and combining different musical genres: Jazz, Mediterranean and Greek Traditional, Avant-Garde.
Festivals
2020 Jazz Chronicles | SNFCC
2019 Django Fest | Frog String Quartet | Technopolis Athens
2018
Django Fest | Frog String Trio & Friends | Technopolis Athens
Aqua Jazz Athens - Athens & Epidaurus Festival
2017
Jazz Night at Sea Festival-Lipasmata
Elaionas Festival | Frog String Quartet
2015 Greek Jazz Panorama/New Generation 2, Onassis Foundation
2014
Syros Jazz Festival
Jazz Festival Gialino Up Stage
Radio Nights @ Sto Kokkino
2013 Acoustic Jazz Festival, Athens
2012 World Jazz Music Festival, Athens
2011 Jazz Now, Thessaloniki Concert Hall
Since 2010 he is living and working in Athens performing and recording constantly as a leader or a sideman for a variety of projects and genres, composing and playing also music for theater shows and Movies
Recordings as a sideman
2019
Angelos Triantafyllou / The Birds / Onassis Foundation
Manouche Drome / Short Stories / FM Records
Michael Paouris / Bandability / BLB Records
2018
Michalis Brouzos / The Last Lust / CD Baby
Alexandros Kapsokavadis / To pikro / Gavrilidis Publication
2017
Yanna Vasileiou / Yialinos Kosmos / Yanna Vasileiou
Nikos Papadogiorgos / Crossroads / Agon Productions
Costinho / Vicinity / Triple Bath
Vaggelis Paraskevaidis / Indoles / Ikaros Records
Eteronimisi / Panic Records
2016
Nikos Papadogiorgos / 8 Songs / Agon Productions
Dimitris Klonis / 101 / Violin Productions
Theodor Mirisclavos / PTOSIS / Polytropon Records
Leonidas Balafas / Likno / Antart Productions
Alkman / Stin Poli Aniko / Mikros Heros
2015
Apostolis Armagos, Xenia Dorotheatou / Aposchesis / Redefine Productions 2014
Thanassis Papakonstantinou / Invitation to Cyanide Dinner / Blues and Soul Records
Jazz Matazz / Krissoi and Pin-up Girls / Jazz Matazz
Michalis Hatzis /Mystic Efratis / Piano Plus Festival
2013
Fide Koksal / Buyu / EMI
2005
Jackie Leven / Elegy for Johnny Cash / Cooking Vinyl
Personal Recordings
His first personal record with original compositions/recompositions of old Greek Rebetiko music transformed in modern Jazz music, was released in October 2014. In May 2019 the original soundtrack of the Theater performance “Guerre des paysages”, was released. The second personal record “The Third Duty” with new original compositions was released in 2020.
2020
Michalis Katachanas / The Third Duty / Violin Productions
2019
Michalis Katachanas-Vassilis Tzavaras / Guerre Des Payssages / KET
2014
Michalis Katachanas / Murderess / Redefine Productions
Theater
The Birds / Screenwriter: Aristophanes / Director: Nikos Karathanos
2020 Teatro Municipal de Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
2019 Onassis Stegi, Athens, Greece
2018 New York, St. Ann’s Warehouse
It was One and it was No One / Screenwriter: Christos Agelakou / Director: Sophia Palatza / Composer: Michalis Katachanas
2019 Theater Simeio, Athens, Greece
Guerre Des Paysages / Screenwriter: Dimitris Alexakis / Director: Irene Bonaud / Composers: Michalis Katachanas & Vassilis Tzavaras
2019 Theater de la Commune, Paris, France
2018 Comedie de Reims, Reims, France
2018 - 2017 TV Control Center | KET, Athens, Greece
A Nail on the Wall / Screenwriter: Lefteris Katachanas / Director: Christos Sterioglou / Composer: Michalis Katachanas
2013 Neos Kosmos Theatre, Athens, Greece
Trisevgeni / Screenwriter: Kostis Palamas / Director: Lydia Koniordou / Composer: Takis Farazis / Principal musician: Michalis Katachanas
2011 National Theater of Athens, Greece
Cinema
2020 Who will be eaten Director: Elpiniki Voutsa / Original Music: Michalis Katachanas
2017 Silent witness Director: Dimitris Koutsiabasakos
2016 Frozen ambrosia Director: Konstantin Papanikolaou
2012 Unfair world Director: Filippos Tsitos
Orchestra participations
2020
Athens Camerata, (conductor George Petrou) Megaron-The Athens Concert Hall
2019
Athens Philharmonic Orchestra, (conductor Giannis Hadjiloizou) Carnegie Hall, New York, Octomber
Athens Philharmonic Orchestra, (conductor Giannis Hadjiloizou) Megaron-The Athens Concert Hall, April
2018
Hellenic Open University Symphonic Orchestra, (conductor Giannis Hadjiloizou) Patra
2017
Hellenic Open University Symphonic Orchestra, (conductor George Galanis) Patra
Educational Experience
Since 2014, he has been a faculty teacher at the Jazz Department of the Athens Conservatoire. He has also worked as a music teacher in public elementary schools in Athens, shaping his own pedagogical method of conducting a modern children’s chorus and improvising by producing on the spot impressive soundscapes, using sounds from nature and everyday life. In 2018, he collaborated with Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center and the Greek National Opera, conducting his modern choir to schools that visited the Stavros Niarchos Park.