John Psathas' Olympiad XXVIII, based on his Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony Music to be premiered by NZ Symphony Orchestra in Beijing

NZ Symphony Orchestra To Appear At Olympic Cultural Festival In Beijing

22nd July 2008 From NZ Musician

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has been invited to perform at the Olympic Cultural Festival in Beijing as part of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Performances will include John Psathas' Olympic Music (based on his 2004 Athens opening ceremony music), and Gareth Farr's Te Papa (incorporating a karanga and featuring Deborah Wai-Kapohe as soprano soloist). More

Olympiad XXVIII - August, 29 2008 at Forbidden City Beijing
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra gives the world premiere of Psathas’ "Olympiad XXVIII" - a new suite of symphonic arrangements based on his music for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympics Games

About John Psathas

It was with a great sense of pride that we found out that Greek New Zealander John Psathas' music was a major part of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies - definitely a highlight of John’s career to date.

John commuted several times between Wellington and Athens to work on the music and supervise the rehearsal process. His music included a number of fanfares and processionals to accompany the arrival of the IOC President, the lighting of the Olympic cauldron and preceded the Olympic oaths, and he was responsible for the soundtrack to the entire flame sequence of the ceremony.

John also arranged the National Anthem of Greece, the Olympic Hymn and music by Shostakovich, Debussy and the foremost living Greek Composer Mikis Theodorakis that accompanied other parts of the ceremony. Watch the Cauldron Lighting at the Opening Ceremony for one of John's adaptations

John Psathas is not only one of New Zealand's most frequently performed composers, he is also one of the finest and most talented of the younger generation of composers in New Zealand.

His music is heard regularly on the world's concert stages, and has been performed by Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Evelyn Glennie, Pedro Carneiro, Federico Mondelci, Michael Houstoun, and many fine ensembles.

John was born in Wellington and grew up in Taumaranui and Napier. His parents, Emmanuel and Anastasia, have since returned to live in the family town of Michaniona in Northern Greece,. Today John lectures at the Victoria University School of Music but visits Greece regularly both for personal and professional reasons. Apart from his numerous visits to Greece in preparation for the Olympics, in December of 2006, he gave a series of concerts in Cyprus and in Patras, which was the Cultural Capital of Europe that year.

Some of John's most recent compositions are View from Olympus, which he wrote while on Sabbatical in Greece and stayed at the top of New Zealand's classical charts for 5 months, and ‘Zembekiko’, an entire programme of Greek music celebrating the heritage of Greek music from Antiquity to the present day. (John Psathas Brochure)

Although his music has been performed at the Megaron (Athens Concert Hall) in the past and will be performed again in October this year, we hope very soon to see one of John’s Greek-inspired works either ‘View from Olympus’ or 'Zembekiko' performed at the Herodeion or at the Megaron!!

Distinctions

• Awarded the 2002 SouNZ Contemporary Award for View From Olympus
• Named an Arts Laureate by the Arts Foundation in 2003.
• His album Rhythm Spike was BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM 2000, and Fragments BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM - 2004, in the NZ MUSIC AWARDS.
• At Victoria University School of Music he is nurturing a new generation of composers.
• The NZ Herald named him as a contender for New Zealander of the Year 2004.
• He was awarded Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2005 list for his services to music.

Upcoming performances of John’s music in Greece

October, 20 2008 at Megaron Mousikis, Athens
"Helix" to be performed as part of the Greek Composers Series

More About John Psathas

John's Official Website

John Psathas at Wikipedia

John's My Space

View from Olympus

John’s Music Videos on You Tube

Tall Blacks' Haka before the Basketball Game with Greece.

It was a great game, the Tall Blacks lost, 75-48, but one of the highlights for everyone in the Stadium was the  New Zealanders' fiery performance of the traditional Maori Haka,  a rare sight in Athens! It was extra special being there, believe me!

Watch it below  - listen to the crowd cheer! They, and we, loved it...

Nana Mouskouri's Farewell Concert - A magical evening full of nostalgia, memories and beautiful melodies in the place where it all began - Athens!

How does one describe a feeling? It’s hard unless you are a poet! Well, I would have loved to have been one on Wednesday 23 July as we sat in the ancient Herodes Atticus theatre or the Herodeion as we call it, waiting for Nana Mouskouri to start what was to be her final concert after 50 years of enchanting audiences all over the world.

There, below a gleaming Parthenon set against a brilliant blue sky which slowly acquired dusky hews we watched thousands of people streaming into this magnificent ancient theatre to take their places. It was a wonderful sight - people of all ages happily assembling to pay tribute to one of Greece's best known ambassadors. The younger generation of singers and artists like Maria Farandouri, Nikos Alliagas and Sakis Rouvas were also there to pay tribute to this great lady.

Just after 9 pm it was time for the concert to start and the screens which had been set up above the stage came to life, projecting scenes from Nana's life - pictures from childhood on, with people she loved and who loved her. Symbolic in a way because it was in the outdoor cinema where her father worked as a projectionist, as she told us later, close by in the suburb of Koukaki, that she began dreaming...dreams that would take her around the world and into millions of homes and hearts over the years ahead. One of those homes was ours...

As Nana's voice filled the theatre, memories came flooding back...

Memories of our Mt Victoria home, loving memories of the whole family, Mum, Dad, my sister Pagona and myself, with some of the usual visitors to our house sitting in front of the television to watch her BBC show every week as she sang and danced with her many and varied guests, from George Chakiris to Shari Lewis, Julio Inglesias and Marinella!

Our father adored her and had every disc he could get hold of in his record collection, and my sister and I inherited that adoration. Somehow we managed to pass it on to my 8 year old daughter, so here we all were with our good friend Maria, also from Wellington, sitting in this magnificent ancient theatre below a now illuminated Parthenon waiting for the concert to begin. (July is a month of sad memories in our household... it is the month that our father left this world, so we decided that our 'memorial service' to him and our mother this year would be to go to Nana's farewell concert.)

Those weekly 'concerts' in our living room were in both our thoughts as we sat and listened to this amazing lady give her last performance...

Memories... of my sister Pagona's weekly radio show, 'Kalispera Sas' on 2ZB, for the Greek Youth Association, GOYANZ, also featured heavily in our thoughts. Pagona played a lot of Nana's music on Kalispera Sas and she used to get lots of letters from listeners all over NZ saying how much they enjoyed the music she played...

Memories... of the Victoria University Greek Club and the flowers that we sent to Nana to welcome her on her first visit to New Zealand, even though she didn't come to Wellington on that first trip. She made up for it years later by visiting Wellington - twice!

Memories… of the French Department at Victoria, a lovely old house on Kelburn Parade, now replaced by the Von Zedlitz, and the Language Lab, where we listened to Nana singing 'Plaisir d’Amour',' Rose Blanche de Corfou' and countless other signature tunes – all designed to assist us in becoming more fluent. 
Memories of Jean-Philippe and Claire Jugand, Ms Piper, Dr Vrolyk , Mme Mortelier, and many others who taught us to appreciate the finesse and beauty of the French language through its Literature, Art and Music.

Honoured by Athens , the city she sang about so eloquently, earlier in the day, Nana's first song was indeed "Athina". Obviously moved, the emotion was apparent in her voice, and it brought the house down. The applause was deafening. (The last time I heard this song at a concert was at the Closing Ceremony of Athens' Unforgettable Olympics in 2004! What a year that was for Greece and what a fantastic homecoming for the Olympic Games after over 100 years. It really was very sad that they couldn't find a place for Nana at the Closing Ceremony - as the music for 'Athina' filled the Olympic Stadium that magical night in August of 2004, I remember thinking that if the songs that she made famous and had taken Greece to every corner of the world were there, then she too had every right to be part of the greatest celebration that Greece would ever host!)

As Nana went from song to song, everyone sang along with her. Standing ovation followed standing ovation, with PM Karamanlis standing up several times to applaud her. This was definitely an evening of symbolism, starting with the date. Exactly 24 years ago on the 23 of July of 1984, she gave her first concert ever at the Herodeion, in the presence of then President Konstantinos Karamanlis. 24 years later, another Karamanlis was in the audience to welcome her - his nephew, Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis who visited New Zealand last year and enjoyed the visit very much.

Nostalgia and sadness alternated with happiness and joy as she sang everything - from traditional Greek songs to Jazz, from country and western to 'Ta Paidia tou Peiraia' (Never on Sunday) to Beethoven's 9th Symphony-Song of Joy! As Nana tirelessly went through a programme of some of her most well-known and popular songs, songs that had the audience clapping, singing and foot-tapping for most of the three hours that she was on the stage, 'I didn't want to tire you' was her comment when the audience asked for more towards the end of the evening!

Thunderous applause followed every encore – the audience enchanted by her melodies and the memories she so generously shared with us refused to let her go and after coming back on stage several times, Nana thanked us all graciously and the Herodeion filled with the haunting lilt of her final song -'Hartino to Feggaraki' or 'Paper Moon' - the legendary Hadjidakis-Gatsos song that she first recorded in 1960. Nikos Gatsos, the poet, was her mentor, a man who taught her a lot, and told her to always look for the Moon and the Sun - the Sun so that she could always see the truth and the Moon so that she could weave her dreams …those dreams that she shared with us and for which we thank her…

THANK YOU, NANA, FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!

THANK YOU FOR A TRULY UNFORGETTABLE EVENING.

THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL, NOSTALGIC CONCERT FULL OF MAGIC, BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, BRILLIANT SETTING... ONE OF ATHENS' MOST BEAUTIFUL, AND A FITTING TRIBUTE TO GREECE'S SONGBIRD.

THANK YOU FOR THE JOURNEY, THE DREAM AND, ABOVE ALL, THE MEMORIES!!...

Read more about Nana Mouskouri at Wikipedia 

Nana's 1st Concert at the Theatre of Herodes Atticus 23 July 1984

Kiwi Tall Blacks vs Greece - 48-75! Good try! The Kiwis put up a good fight!

It was great while it lasted but for the Kiwis the Olympic dream is over! The atmosphere in the Olympic Basketball Stadium was great, bringing back memories of our Unforgettable, Magical, Dream Olympics nearly 4 years ago. Unbelievable - Athens 2004 feels like yesterday!

I felt like the Lone Ranger - 1 silver fern flag amongst a sea of Aegean blue and white..

Here is what the press said...

Olympic dream shattered for Tall Blacks

NZPA | Saturday, 19 July 2008 www.stuff.co.nz

The New Zealand men's basketball team has been crushed in its attempt to qualify for the Olympics.

The team was humbled 48-75 by Greece in the quarterfinals of the Olympic qualifying tournament this morning.

Spurred on by a raucous crowd of 20,000 at the Olympic qualifying tournament quarterfinal, Greece were too classy in every department for a Tall Blacks side whose hopes of reaching the Beijing Games next month rested on a top-three finish.

It is the first time since 1996 that New Zealand won't field a men's basketball team at the Olympics.

A Tall Blacks side missing several unavailable or retired senior players always faced a daunting task against the tournament favourites and world championship silver medalists.

They were never in the hunt after a disastrous first five minutes in which they fell behind 15-2 and veteran forward Pero Cameron picked up two fouls.

The lead was pegged to 22-12 by quarter time but New Zealand steadily lost ground from from there, trailing 20-37 at halftime and 36-55 with a quarter to play.

A gulf in class was evident at both ends of the court, particularly when the Tall Blacks were in possession. more

For more info and points tables visit www.athens2008.fiba.com

NZ vs Greece - Friday 18 July 2008, 10.00PM OAKA, Athens - Let's all be there!!!

Tall Blacks face high hurdle

By DANIEL GILHOOLY | Thursday, 17 July 2008 (www.stuff.co.nz)

The mountain New Zealand must scale to reach Beijing became obvious as they tried to leave the venue of the men's basketball Olympic qualifying tournament in Athens today.

After losing their final pool match 71-89 to Germany, the Tall Blacks found themselves stuck for nearly half an hour in the car park.

An enormous crowd was arriving to watch hosts Greece, the team New Zealand must somehow topple in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning (NZ time) to have any chance of competing at the Beijing Olympics. more...

Kiwi Tall Blacks Lose to Germany 71-89...if Greece wins (at the moment it is 73-58 to Greece) it will be a very interesting game for us Griwis!!!

Tall Blacks lose to Germany

Thursday, 17 July 2008 (www.stuff.co.nz)

LATEST: New Zealand crashed to a 71-89 loss to Germany in their final pool match at the men's basketball Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece this morning (NZ time).

Despite 29 points from forward Kirk Penney, the Tall Blacks were only in contention through the early stages against taller, more experienced opponents in Athens.

Both sides had already qualified for the quarterfinals after easy respective wins over Cape Verde.

New Zealand's quarterfinal was to be played on Saturday morning (NZ time) against the winner of the pool match between hosts Greece and Brazil later today. more...

For more info and points tables visit www.athens2008.fiba.com

Athens hosts Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Basketball: New Zealand wins opening game at Olympic qualifying tournament

New Zealand has beaten Cape Verde 77-50 to start a 12-nation qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics.

The Tall Blacks led 16-0 before extending it to 42-20 at halftime. Kirk Penney led the scoring with 25 points.

New Zealand captain Pero Cameron says his teammates knew little about their opponents going into the game. more

From MSN.com 14 July 2008

Kiwi heads Harrods

The Kiwi at the helm of Harrod's

By KERRY WILLIAMSON - The Dominion Post | Monday, 14 July 2008

He may just be the most successful Kiwi businessman you've never heard of - and he's running a British institution.

For the past three months former Wellingtonian James McArthur has been in charge of Harrods department store, a must-see for Kiwis visiting London.

Mr McArthur, once a Tawa schoolboy, is Harrods Group's chief executive officer, a position created specifically for him.

Reporting directly to Harrods chairman Mohamed Al Fayed, Mr McArthur oversees the Knightsbridge store as well as the company's real estate, aviation and airport terminal retail operations. more...

From the Dominion Post 14 July 2008

Kia Ora, Kalos ilthate, Welcome!

Kia Ora and welcome to our brand new blog!

A few words about us...until we actually get going properly.

This website is for all New Zealanders and friends of New Zealand living in Greece. The name Griwis was coined by Griwi Robyn Christou who was living in Greece at the time but is now back in NZ, and we liked it so much we kept it!

As a result of the closure of the New Zealand Embassy in Athens in 1991, and our petition protesting this, we set up The Hellenic New Zealand Association in 1995.

Check it out and let us have your comments...hopefully it will be more complete later in the month!!!