NEW YORK – Margarita Tsoukarelas was born in Poland and raised in Greece. From a very young age she participated in music competitions and swept the awards. At the age of 18, she returned to Poland to study music and theater and completed her postgraduate studies in Germany. From there on, her career has followed a continuous upward course as Tsoukarelas participates in many, significant musical theater productions, singing in many languages. She created two concert programs, Lady Margarita Swings and Lady Margarita- Bei mir bist du scheen! which the talented artist presented in important European cities. She was recently awarded a scholarship by the German state for her new songs. She is also involved in teaching singing and has recently set up her own e-learning singing school, Vocal Studio Margarita Tsoukarelas. She spoke with The National Herald about her career.

TNH: How did you start your career in the field of music and especially in lyric singing and musical theater?

Margarita Tsoukarelas: My love for music and my involvement with it started from as far back as I can remember. It was more of a need that came from within me, the most important way for me to express my feelings and a kind of purification of my soul. The fact that my mother is a theater teacher and director and my father a singer played an important role. I studied classical singing and theater in my native Poland at the Karol Lipinski Academy of Music in Wrocław, Poland, and completed my postgraduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig, Germany.

TNH: What are the most important milestones in your career?

MT: One of the most important collaborations I have done is with the Theater der Jungen Welt Leipzig (Leipzig Theater) in Germany and at the same time I have appeared as a soloist in the Kammeroper Dresden and the Gallissas Theaterverlag Berlin in Germany. This was followed by important opera roles such as Papagena in The Magic Flute, Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte, Atalanta in Xerxes, and musical roles such as Maria in West Side Story, Sally in Cabaret, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, etc. In 2013-2019, I was a soloist of the well-known German band Musical Company Leipzig in the productions Broadway’s Best and Musical Gala Best of Broadway at the König Albert Theater Bad Elster and at the Krystallpalast Variete Leipzig in Germany.

One of my programs, Lady Margarita- Bei mir bist du scheen! was selected to be included in the Culture program of the Central Council of German Jews (ZDJ) for 2019. I also had the great honor of appearing at the Maccabi USA Games. My two concert programs: Lady Margarita Swings and Lady Margarita- Bei mir bist du scheen!, were presented in important concert halls, theaters, and festivals in Germany, Poland, Greece, and Hungary. Appearances followed on the State Television of Poland and in the Greek media. In 2019, I was a member of the jury of the International Song Contest Kluczborskie Trele in Poland.

TNH: Besides singing, you also write music and lyrics. What characterizes your compositions?

MT: Apart from classical song that was the basis of my studies, I have been fascinated by other musical genres since I was a child: jazz, swing, French chansons, pop, soul, gospel, musicals, film and classical music. I always wanted to innovate and experiment with different, new, alternative sounds influenced by the old retro songs of different decades. This “concern” led me to study the music of different peoples and to perform in many foreign languages. In my songs, cinematic music is ideally combined with pop, jazz, swing, and musicals along with a fresh electronic sound. My songs present the redemption of the soul in a modern, surreal, and deeply romantic way.

I started composing more professionally, writing my first songs for the award-winning Polish film Hustawka in 2009 and later songs such as Glass Sphere, Rose of Eden, Coronofili, Scarlet Dreams, World Of U, Isolation, etc.

TNH: The quarantine period has been very creative for you…

MT: During that time I was inspired and completed the production of my first album entitled Scarlet Dreams, as well as the video clips of my songs (Isolation, World of U, Coronofili, Scarlet Dreams) of which I am the creator. In July 2020, I had the honor to appear, among others, in the musical theater performance entitled APOMONOSI-ISOLATION directed by my mother, director Dimitra Stragalinou Tsoukarela as well as my own music editing.

TNH: What are your next steps?

MT: Teaching voice and singing to children, teenagers, and adults has played an important role in my life in recent years. I recently created my own school Vocal Studio Margarita Tsoukarelas in which I teach online and live lessons, as well as song seminars at all levels and in every type of music. I have students from different countries. I am also preparing concerts abroad with a new music program and new songs for my next album.

More information is available online:

https://www.margarita-tsoukarelas.com

https://www.facebook.com/MargaritaTsoukarelasOfficial

https://www.instagram.com/margaritatsoukarelas

https://www.youtube.com/c/MargaritaTsoukarelasOfficial