I am composer, pianist and a novelist. My music marries the dynamic energy of contemporary classical and cinematic music with the meditative character of ambient music and traditional music from Greece and Japan. My latest work is significantly influenced by the practice of meditation and Zen philosophy. I compose for contemporary classical music but for multimedia music too [short films, animation films].
In February 2019, I was awarded the 3rd Prize and the Public’s 1st Prize at the 7th Molinari String Quartet Composition Competition in Montreal, with my string quartet For Sun’s Light. A year prior, I won the 2nd Prize at the 4th Opus Dissonus International Composition Competition in Brazil for my piano solo On the Vision and The Riddle.
I was also selected as one of the six laureates of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra’s prestigious New Sounds Week Call for Scores in 2022, for my orchestral piece A Mystic Journey. In 2021, I stood out as one of four composers chosen in the Open Call for Young Greek Composers – Israeli Chamber Project, for my work A Glimpse of Autumn, a composition based on haiku poems, a poignant reflection on nature’s fleeting beauty. Most recently, I was selected at the SEED 2024: Virtual Composition Academy to compose a piece for the traditional Japanese instrument sho, commissioned by the academy and sho performer Chatori Shimizu. Performances of my pieces include artists such as Molinari String Quartet, Ergon Ensemble, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, Israeli Chamber Ensemble, Erato Alakiozidou, Marilena Liakopoulou, Alexandra Papachristou, Chatori Shimizu, UofT Percussion Ensemble among others, and I have received commissions from Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, Megaron Music Thessaloniki and Athens Concert Hall.
I hold a Master’s in Composition from the University of Toronto, mentored by the composer Christos Hatzis. In September 2022, I started my Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Composition at the same institution, a path illuminated by a full-tuition scholarship. Prior to my studies in University of Toronto, I studied composition privately for seven years with composer Altin Volaj, and I also several music degrees from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki: Degree in Counterpoint, Degree in Fugue and Diploma in Composition with music theorist and composer Costas Tsougras, and the Degree in Piano Performance with prof. Victoria Victoratou. I am currently a Teaching Assistant at the University of Toronto, where I assist in composition and orchestration, and a freelance composer, receiving commissions from institutions and privately.
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Menelaos Peistikos performs his composition “Tango Nostalgico” (2014) for solo piano.
Shot and edited by Yeoryia Edirneli
Recorded at Cue Production Studios by Yannis Mavridis, Thessaloniki, June 2024
CHIAROSCURO
« Man is the only creature who refuses to be what she is. »
Directed by Alayna Simonds
Composition by Menelaos Peistikos [“Deserts” for solo cello, performed by Efstratia Chaloulakou]
Cinematography by Liz M. Angulo
Written by Martina Rossi, Mégane Vermette & Alayna Simonds
Edited by Mégane Vermette & Alayna Simonds
Color corrected by Alayna Simonds & Mégane Vermette
Sound by Ginevra Pasi & Samantha Montes
Directed and edited: Elizabeth M. Angulo
Written and co-directed: Megane Vermette
Music: Menelaos Peistikos, soundtrack “The Valse of Contemplation” for solo piano
Starring Megane Vermette and Anna Scheidler
1st Assistant Director: Noura Shammas
Director of Photography: Juan Ignacio Checa Diaz
Second Camera Operator: Samantha Montes
Sound: Anna Scheidler
Choreographer: Elizabeth M. Angulo
Art by: August Clot
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