NEW YORK – The award-winning, London-based voice/piano duo of Jared Andrew Michaud and Christina Maria Koti performed a recital of art songs influenced by Greek traditions and culture, titled Greece & Art Song: In Myth and Tradition, on February 17 at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Manhattan.

Franco-American baritone Michaud and Greek pianist Koti who is originally from the island of Rhodes, have been working closely for nearly three years now after meeting at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance in London, where they both received their master’s degrees and studied with Neil Baker, Deniz Gelenbe-Arman, Helen Yorke, and Eugene Asti. The duo has received international recognition for their interpretation of art song, winning first prize at the 2022 Federation of Art Song Fellowship Competition in New York City, the 4th International SGSM Singing Competition in Slovenia, and the 2022 Elisabeth Schumann Lieder Duo Competition in London.

Federation of Art Song President and co-Artistic Director Alta Malberg gave the welcoming remarks and thanked everyone for attending the concert which Fellowship  winners Michaud and Koti produced as part of their three concert awards. She then introduced Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Konstantinou who noted that “this enthusiastic dup has a particularly interesting approach to Greek music.”

“In Greece, our musical tradition is as rich and diverse as our history, however, several of its aspects go unnoticed, take for example folk music, Byzantine music, Rembetiko, Greek classical music and the so-called Greek Art music, tonight we will be enjoying a fascinating narrative that brings together all these aspects of Greek music.”

“Tonight’s performance offers us a rare opportunity to explore the depth and versatility of Greek music,” Konstantinou said. He then introduced Michaud and Koti who were greeted with a warm round of applause.

The gifted musicians impressed the audience with their skills and their knowledge in the recital which explored the nuanced relationship between Greek music and classical music, and the age-old duality of East and West with a dynamic program of songs in Greek, French, German, Russian, and English by composers such as Schubert, Ravel, Berkeley, Constantinides, and Hadjidakis.

Songs inspired by ancient Greek myth, poetry, and the folk music tradition were performed beautifully by the duo whose introductions to each piece highlighted the ways Greek themes and music transcended and continue to transcend borders and inspire composers to create emotionally charged musical experiences in a variety of languages and cultures.

The program included a QR code for audience members to follow along with the lyrics in the various languages and in English translation.

When asked what is next for the duo, Koti told The National Herald in a previous interview that “we’re performing a different program in May in Princeton and New Brunswick, NJ, so we are preparing for that as well as a variety of other recitals in London. We are constantly preparing for and competitions in competitions around the world, so we will continue to travel the world and get ourselves out there. Jared is performing with Grange Park Opera this summer in the UK, and together we will likely do another duo course this summer to work with a talented mentor and practice some music. Next year, we are looking at relocating to Paris to pursue Artist Diplomas and to work with renowned collaborative pianist/coach Susan Manoff.”