To be named the only Greek orchestra in the Southern hemisphere can at times be hard to live up to.
But somehow, the Queensland Greek Orchestra takes that title in their stride and creates wonderful music for the masses. The orchestra originally started around six to seven years ago with only a couple of members. Fast forward to 2011 and here they are with around nearly 20 musicians ranging from the ages of 12 to 29. Dimitra Pergaris, senior keyboardist and secretary, Queensland Greek Orchestra, told Neos Kosmos that as the “orchestra matured”, not only musically but physically, they had the confidence to begin performing at functions.
The Greek Night Out is a result of all their hard work and talent.
“The Greek Night Out is to promote our orchestra and the senior youth of Queensland, and to give everyone a good night of Greek dancing, fun and music,” said Pergaris. “It’s more of a dinner dance a mix of taverna night and a concert. So it’s not entirely ‘sit there and listen to the orchestra’ it’s also about having a good time and dancing with the music.” The event is open to all members of the Greek community and Australians alike. So long as you want to hear music, dance, and have fun then this event is for you. The orchestra play a clever mix of old and modern music, but all the time creating their own spin on these sounds. However, they do remain close to their traditions and only play Greek music – whether that be traditional or modern Greek.
“We take a composer like Mikis Theodorakis and because he is an older style of music, we make slight modifications to bring it up-to-date, to make it sound more modern,” said Pergaris. “We are going to be featuring songs by Thanos Petrelis, Hatzigiannis, Remos, Sfagiannaki. We are playing more modern songs now, so more people can be interested. It’s going to be a really good night.”
With such a young mix it’s amazing to see that members of the orchestra are training classically. Pergaris herself has been classically trained as a musician for sixteen years. It’s this training that empowers her to be a leader to the younger members of the orchestra, importantly to help out the juniors when they need it. She said the orchestra is “just like a family”.
Greek Night Out will take place on 24 September at Greek Orthodox Southside Parish Hall, 269 Creek Road, Mount Gravatt. For ticket information call Dimitra on 0423 661 583.
