Hello everyone!

Meet Kostas Zisimopoulos, the winner of Strings, Vol. I, composer and member of the Greek Composer’s Union born in 1994 in Athens, Greece. After graduating as a theatrologist from the University of Peloponnese Faculty Of Fine Arts, Theatre Departmentand and receiving specialized Diplomas in Advanced Music Theory, Harmony and Counterpoint, he started to study composition in Utrecht Conservatorium, where he obtained his Bachelor degree. In 2021 he studied as an Erasmus+ student in Universität der Künste Berlin and at the moment he is a master composition student in Koninklijk Conservatorium. He also attended masterclasses and lectures of G. Aperghis, S. Gervasoni, C. Ianotta, Y. Robin, F. Filidei,Y. Maresz, R. Cendo, E. Reiter, G. Spiropoulos, H. Parra, M. Lanza, J. M. Staud, O. Bianchi, B. Pierluigi and D. Kourliandski, among others.

He has received commissions and performances from ensembles, orchestras, venues and institutions such as Philharmonie de Paris, Berliner Philarmoniker, Carnegie Hall, Fondazione I Teatri di Reggio Emilia, GMEM – Centre national de création musicale Marseille, Residentie Orkest and ARCo, while also has been collaborating with ensembles like Percussions de Strasbourg, Ensemble Multilatérale, Les Metaboles, Ensemble Fractales, Divertimento Ensemble, PHACE, Trio Estatico, Ensemble Taller Sonoro, Ensemble U:, Cikada, Meitar Ensemble, Ensemble, Roadrunner Trio, United Instruments of Lucilin, TACETi, Ensemble Suono Giallo, Kaaos Ensemble, Vertixe Sonora, GAMEnsemble, ARTéfacts ensemble, Ensemble Terrible, Phoenix and KamerOrkest Driebergen.

His works have been heard in international festivals such as Rainy Days (LUX), Ostrobothnian Contemporary Music Festival (FI), Remus Georgescu International Music Festival (RO), The 21st Century Guitar Conference (USA), Rondò 2023 (IT), UNK New Music Festival (USA), VIII St. Petersburg New Music Festival (RUS), ilSUONO Contemporary Music Week (IT), ARCO (AT), IYCA Ticino (CH), CEME (IL), Roadrunner Academy (NL), Mixtur Festival (ES), Curs Internacional de Composició Barcelona Modern” 7th Edition (ES), VII International Workshop for Young Composers (IT), isaMasterclass (AT), CML (CY) and Vienna Summer Music Festival (AT).

His music is mainly focused on the ideas of deviation, instability, interruption and interference. He is interested in researching the different levels of time and time perception by taking into consideration phenomena such as form, micro-material, rhythm and sonority.

He had collaborated with choreographers, artists, theatre groups, collectives and companies such as ‘Imitating the Dog’, ’Theatre of Experience’ and ‘Thingamajig’ by composing original music for ‘Old Times’ by Harold Pinter, ‘The Dance of Death’ by A. Strindberg’ and ‘ASTYlogia’ by N. Fytas among others.

He has been awarded international composition prizes, honourable mentions and as a finalist in competitions such as International Composition Institute of Thailand (ICIT), Ise-Shima Composition Competition, DYCE Discovering Young Composers of Europe, Bruno Maderna Composition Competition, Da_sh editions 3rd International Composition Competition, Composition Competition – Franz Schubert Konservatorium, Wien and INMF (Impulse New Music Festival).

His music has received premieres and performances in France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Estonia, Norway, Czech Republic, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Ukraine, Israel, United States, Thailand, Russia and Canada.