The Guitar Seminar by George Bechlivanoglou in Rodotopi and his Lecture in Ioannina (2017)

On Saturday, December 2, 2017, George Bechlivanoglou held, for the second consecutive year, an outstanding guitar seminar for the members of the RGE in Rodotopi. On the following day, Sunday, December 3, 2017, he continued at Frontzou Politeia in Ioannina with a lecture and guitar seminar.

The two-day event of George Bechlivanoglou in Ioannina, as well as two previous ones, was organized by the Pavlos Vrellis Museum of Greek History, following the initiative of Konstantinos Vrellis, to whom our association expresses its heartfelt gratitude for his contribution.

The Seminar in Rodotopi (2.12.2017)

Once again, George Bechlivanoglou, full of energy and willingness to give, taught continuously for six hours, far exceeding the initial time plan of the seminar. Six RGE members participated as performers, presenting works of varying difficulty, including F. Tárrega (Pepita), N. Paganini (Romanze, arr. K. Scheit), and C. Domeniconi (Variations on an Anatolian Song).

Photos by Christos Parginos

Review of the "Paths of Rhythm" Seminar by Kostas Dimitriou at the RGE Hall on October 15, 2017

On Sunday afternoon, October 15, 2017, a very engaging seminar took place at the RGE Hall in Rodotopi, presented by Kostas Dimitriou and titled “Paths of Rhythm.”

In a joyful atmosphere, with the participation of RGE members and other attendees who came especially for the seminar, participants had the opportunity to perform rhythmic patterns using a metronome, each time based on different time units (e.g. the same rhythmic figure counted in quarters, halves, etc.), with varied accents (e.g. sixteenth notes accented every three beats, quarter-note triplets containing subdivisions of eighth-note triplets, etc.), as well as an introduction to performing eighth notes in Swing Feel (a jazz approach).

After a short break, during which sweets and refreshments were offered, the second part of the seminar followed. This was dedicated to performing rhythmic patterns through body movement (a kind of “dance-like” approach, with rhythmic elements in feet and hands), as well as through the use of voice (e.g. division into groups and simultaneous execution of “odd groupings,” which alternated cyclically from group to group).

“Paths of Rhythm” Seminar by Kostas Dimitriou at the RGE Hall (Sunday, 15 Oct. 2017)

A very interesting seminar for every musician and music enthusiast will be presented by Kostas Dimitriou, drums instructor and founder of the Ioannina School of Music, at the RGE Hall in Rodotopi, on Sunday, October 15, 2017, at 6:00 pm.

The seminar, titled “Paths of Rhythm”, explores different ways of studying with a metronome, as well as the embodiment of rhythm, culminating in an approach to polyrhythms and what is called odd grouping.

The seminar is open to all interested participants free of charge and is a generous contribution by Kostas Dimitriou.