New York, September 29: Glykeria benefits concert

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From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" <dist@hri.org>

Originally From: info <info@greekamericamagazine.com>

Contact: George Katerinis (773) 929-7966 george@greekamericamagazine.com

Greek America Magazine and the Greek America Cultural Foundation Proudly to feature Greece¹s Platinum Voice‹ Glykeria

A Special Greek Musical Evening with Glykeria to Benefit The Greek Museum - The Center for Greek American Heritage in New York City

Friday, September 29, 2000 @ 8:30 pm

Manhattan¹s Historic Town Hall in New York City - 123 West 43rd Street

Also including vocalists Petros Imvrios & Nikos Karagiannis And Glykeria¹s Complete Greek Orchestra, featuring Accordion Soloist Lazaros Koulaxizis

Co-sponsored by: Odyssey Magazine, The GreekAmerican, Cavo Cafe Lounge and Hydra Day Spa.

Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations throughout the New York area or by calling Ticketmaster at 212-307-4100 or by logging on to http://www.ticketmaster.com

In Astoria, tickets are available at Hydra Day Spa, 31-09 Newtown Avenue (718) 267-7991

For additional information call Greek America Magazine at 781-229-1941 or Odyssey Magazine at 212-977-6719 or email info@greekamericamagazine.com

Glykeria - Greece¹s Platinum Voice

Glykeria (pronounced Glee-keh-REE-ah) is one of the most prolific and popular artists in Greece, with more than 25 solo albums (all Gold or Platinum) and over 100 works recorded for compilation or guest appearance records. An early album entitled ³Me Tin Glykeria Stin Omorfi Nychta² still ranks as the biggest selling record in Greek history. Throughout her career in Greece Glykeria has performed hundreds upon hundreds of concerts from one corner of the world to the other, including over 100 concerts abroad in the United States, Canada, South America, Australia and throughout Europe. As a result of her tremendous popularity and success, media both at home and abroad have rightfully dubbed her ³Greece¹s Platinum Voice.²

An active supporter of human rights and issues of peace in the Middle East, Glykeria often lends her efforts to benefit concerts throughout the world. She has been honored for her work at the highest level of the Israeli government. Recently, she brought to the stage and studio a Jewish and a Palestinian singer, to record ³Mother¹s Prayer,² a song about a universally-recognized theme‹ mothers who have lost children in the Middle East conflict. During her many trips to Israel, she has spent countless hours at hospitals and centers for children with special needs, as well as at homes of families who have lost sons and daughters in terrorist attacks.

In Greece, she has been visited at her performances by visiting American dignitaries and diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns‹ a self-proclaimed ³huge fan of Glykeria¹s.² During his visit to her performance at the Athens Show Center, the two talked about how music can act as a bridge between cultures, bringing people together in a way that politics and diplomacy cannot.

Sony Music treats her albums as international releases, with success in many European countries, including France and Israel. Recently, she beat out Madonna in the Israeli Music Awards in the top female foreign performer category. Greek newspapers rejoiced, proclaiming a soccer-score headline: Glykeria - Madonna, 1-0. Her biggest fan in Israel was the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. His love for Glykeria and her music was expressed by his wife Leah, who invited Glykeria to give a special concert in his memory on the third anniversary of his death. Over 300,000 Israelis turned out for the event, making it the biggest musical happening in that nation¹s history.

She successfully navigates the fine line between commercialism and artistic credibility, managing to perform irresistible, melodic songs while remaining faithful to Greece¹s rich musical heritage. Unlike other Greek performers who remain stagnant in style, Glykeria is never afraid to evolve. Recently, she was asked to sing ³Diaspora,² the title track on the latest album of the new age Greek group Omega Vibes who use only electronically-produced sounds in their recordings.

Her voice was also borrowed by London-based techno-dance group Liquid City on one of their latest releases. An earlier album, Volta Stin Ellada (A Serenade Throughout Greece) revived forgotten traditional folk songs from Greece¹s mountainous villages and far-flung islands‹ songs that were long forgotten by mainstream most singers. Still another release paid tribute to her Orthodox Christian heritage, with recordings of sacred hymns of the Greek Orthodox Good Friday Lamentations of Christ services. She has performed with some of the world¹s top vocalists and musicians, including duets with Israeli tenor Yevgheni Shopalopov, Arab superstar Natacha Atlas, and the late Ofra Haza, Israel¹s most famous musical export. Recently, she was joined on stage by Turkish megastar Omar Farouk Tekbilek. The two agreed to share each other¹s voice on upcoming albums.

Greek disc jockeys and music industry professionals who came together for various end of the millennium polls and magazine articles were unanimous in calling Glykeria one of the century¹s top Greek performers, with many of her songs ranking in dozens of ³top² lists of the century. Billboard Magazine recently called Glykeria ³a living musical legend,² while The Boston Globe referred to her as ³the wonder of Greece² following a concert in Boston last year.

Her latest album was recorded live with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv during two sold out concerts in May-June 1999. Although one concert was scheduled, a second was added after tickets for the first show sold out in record time. The album contains a selection of classic Greek songs by well-known composers like Xarhakos and Theodorakis; contemporary and ancient Hebrew songs, including ³Shabechim Yerushalem,² lines of Old Testament psalms set to music; as well as ³Morenica,² a medieval song of the Spanish Sephardic Jews performed in the nearly-extinct Ladino language.

The Greek Museum - The Center for Greek American Heritage

The mission of The Greek Museum, the Center of Greek-American Heritage, is to preserve the contributions of the Greek immigrants to the American culture. The purpose of this museum is to collect, preserve and interpret tangible objects that represent the life of Greek-Americans. It will include a library and research collection, an oral history department of audio and video recordings documenting the contributions of the early immigrants, ³hands-on² displays of particular interest to children, and rotating exhibits dealing with the Greek-American experience. It will include a music library with emphasis on the early music of the immigrants, and permanent exhibits will include embroideries, costumes, jewelry, pottery, and religious objects. The museum has been incorporated under the laws of the State of New York and chartered under the Board of Regents of the New York State Education Department. It plans to open a facility in Manhattan.

According to Co-founders Kathy Boulukos and Anastasia Nicholas, the first exhibit is entitled ³The Greek Americans in New York City². The exhibition will celebrate the many contributions of the Greek New Yorkers. Topics will include Greek Americans in business, politics, labor, theatre, medicine, education, law, the food industry, sports, journalism and the arts. For further information, contact The Greek Museum at PO Box l863, Grand Central Station, New York, NY l0l63, or by email at TheGreekMuseum@aol.com.

Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations throughout the New York area or by calling Ticketmaster at 212-307-4100 or by logging on to http://www.ticketmaster.com

In Astoria, tickets are available at Hydra Day Spa, 31-09 Newtown Avenue (718) 267-7991

For additional information call Greek America Magazine at 781-229-1941 or Odyssey Magazine at 212-977-6719 or email info@greekamericamagazine.com

Attention editors: for interview requests, high resolution photos of Glykeria or additional information, please contact George Katerinis at 773-929-7966 or email george@greekamericamagazine.com

Note: In Chicago, Glykeria will perform a special benefit concert for "Seeds of Peace" on Saturday, October 7, 2000. For details visit http://www.concertforpeace.com

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