Last Friday 27 November was a day to remember for the students of St George College, Thebarton, with an unscheduled visit from Nikos Kourkoulis.
The Greek singer, who currently lives in Darwin, made a detour to the college before his special guest appearance at the annual Glendi Festival, held at Bonython Park on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November.
The surprise performance by Kourkoulis stunned all the students and was the perfect way to reward a hard week of studying and demanding exams. The singer gave an inspiring introduction to the children, speaking about his origins, his own dreams and the importance of having passion and determination in life.
His joyous spirit, caring nature and contagious smile had a powerful effect on everyone and captured the attention of every child in the room.
Among Kourkoulis’ audience was the Very Reverend Father Patsouris, Presvetera Anne Patsouris, the Consul General of Greece in SA Mr. Andreas Gouras and the principal of St George College, Ms Gina Kadis.
After his performance, Kourkoulis, who was officially awarded the title of ‘Ambassador of Greek Studies’ last week by the Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory, happily stayed back to sign autographs and have his photo taken with all the students.
What came as a big surprise to everyone present was the announcement that he is currently in the process of founding an Australian ‘Panhellenic Music Association’, which will be focused towards local Greek artists with the aim of promoting their work and the dissemination of Greek music and culture through the Australian education system.
“Aside from any personal benefits, seats of power and distinctions, we are foremost artists and we aim to promote and preserve Greek culture,” Kourkoulis stated, while stressing that the inherent issues in Australia’s Greek communities are many, and after 60 years, the time has come for a collective effort to ensure that the ‘Greekness’ of future generations is maintained.
“Our Greek character is under the threat of disappearing and we all have an obligation to draw the interest of the youth towards our embrace,” he concluded.