Dimitrios Soukaras
2021 marks the release of Dimitris Soukaras’s new album “ROOTS” for NAXOS international records. The music in the program covers a spectrum of genres that have flourished in Greece in recent years, from Jazz to contemporary avant-garde. In making this recording he took the opportunity to invite some of Greece’s leading composers (Antoniou, Tsalahouris, Klampanis, Maroulis) to write for his instrument for the first time. All works are world premiere recordings.
Dimitris Soukaras is a multi-award classical guitarist based in London. He is considered one of the most awarded and promising Greek musicians of his generation. He is extremely interested to expand the guitar’s repertoire by inviting a range of leading non-guitarists composers from around the world to compose for his instrument. Through his imaginative programs, featuring new music and arrangements, as well as through his chamber music collaborations, he tries to redefine the relationship between classical guitar and the audience.
Since 2019, he is the Founder and the Artistic Director of MUΣA Concert Series. He was the first student of the Ionian Univerity (Music Department) that completed his studies in three years instead of five. He was awarded the DipRAM the highest award confirmed by the Royal Academy of Music in London where he studied with full scholarship the Advanced Diploma and the Master of Arts. Also, his studies have been supported by the Academy of Athens and the Athena Scholarship. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Surrey.
My research focuses on “the creative role of the performer through the creation of new works for guitar by non-guitarists composers”.
In the Greek language the word for interpretation is (“ερμηνεία” = erminia). The word comes from the Ancient Greek God Hermis (“Ερμής”). Hermis was considered the herald of the gods, responsible to deliver their divine message. “Erminia” today is the word we use for interpretation meaning that the performer is responsible for delivering the message of the composer, the creator of music, and communicating the intentions with the audiences. This research project aims to challenge the perception of the performer considered in most circumstances as the interpreter and aims to distinct his creative side that remains resilient. The findings are intended to broaden the understanding of contemporary collaborative practices in the compositional process for the guitar. The research material (commissioned works) will not only extend the guitar repertoire into new and exciting territories but will also test the technical possibilities of the instrument.
This research project investigates the nature and impact of collaborative creativity in composerperformer dyads engaged in joint realisation of new musical works. The main question governing this research is to identify “how collaboration between composer and performers impact on the notation, interpretation, identity of the new musical work. My project involves pro-active collaboration at all stages of the creative process.
As part of my proposed practice-based research, I aim to collaborate with leading composers from Brazil, China, Greece, and the UK. The high profile composers involved in the project have influenced me with their music and artistry. Having researched their compositions. I am familiar with their musical language and this is the reason why I feel, I should collaborate with them. Their musical style and language challenges in many ways the traditional guitaristic style of writing. Even though their musical aesthetics and idea of sound vary from one to another I am interested to research my role in the process of the creation in so many different styles of musical expression.