Yiorgos Vassilandonakis is an associate professor of music at the College of Charleston, and recently served as a lecturer for the UC Berkeley Department of Music. The Empyrean Ensemble is premiering his recent trio for flute, violin, and piano, on its November 8 concert. Transcending stylistic boundaries, his music is driven by a strong dramatic and formal sense. With an idiomatic and personal voice in contemporary art music, Vassilandonakis draws upon a palette of well-assimilated influences, ranging from the avant-garde, to spectralism and electronics, echoing the music of his homeland as well as jazz. Vassilandonakis holds degrees (M.A., Ph.D.) in composition from UC Berkeley, as well as a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from UCLA.

Free, no tickets necessary (a Valente Lecture)