Acclaimed conductor Alkis Baltas will be directing the annual Festival of Religious Music on Patmos island this year.
For the 17th year the beautiful eastern Mediterranean island will be hosting the event in Cave of the Apocalypse, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The festival kicks off tonight with the Saint Sion Choir from the island of Lesvos in Greek music written in praise of the Virgin Mary.
Tomorrow, Thursday 30 August the English Chamber Choir will perform two world premieres of the new choral works by Ivan Moody and Alkis Baltas written especially for the 17th installment of the festival.
On 31 August, the festival’s official orchestra accompanied by three singers and a Greek actress will present an educational concert on Aesop’s fable ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’.
Meanwhile, Saturday and the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere will see singer Sophia Avramidou and three musicians introduce a program juxtaposing contemporary music with songs and melodies of religious or spiritual character.
The festival’s orchestra will return on Sunday 2 September 2 to impress the audience with its take on the first oratorio ever written, Emilio Cavalieri’s ‘The Representation of Soul and Body’.
All vocal parts will be performed by the members of the choir, while the narrative will be recited by Vangelis Psomas in Greek and English.
The festival will concludes on Sunday with the Moscow Youth Chamber Choir.
To find out more, visit www.patmosfestival.gr