The Hellenic Studies Program, The Council on Latin American & Iberian Studies, and the European Studies Council present:
Spiros Exaras and Elio Villafranca in Concert
Born in Thessaloniki and raised in Athens, Greek Composer/Guitarist Spiros Exaras studied classical guitar performance and music composition at the Athens Conservatory of Music, where he obtained a master’s degree. A versatile performer, Exaras is at home in diverse styles and excels in jazz, rock, world music as well as in Symphonic music. He has performed and recorded with Evanthia Reboutsika, Mario Frangoulis, Kostas Hatzis, Elias Andriopoulos, Alkistis Protopsalti, Yannis Markopoulos, Kostas Karalis and Antonis Kaloyannis, and Mariah Carey, among others. Exaras is also a prolific composter. His composing credits include feature film “Everything For A Reason”, short films “Niko’s Restaurant and “Just Cause”, in addition theatrical plays “Gallathea” and “The Hand And The Hen” and numerous commercials.
Born in the Pinar del Río province of Cuba, Steinway Artist, Grammy Nominated, and 2014 Jalc Millennium Swing Award! recipient pianist and composer Elio Villafranca was classically trained in percussion and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. Over the years Elio Villafranca has recorded and performed nationally and internationally as a leader, featuring jazz master artists such as Pat Martino, Terell Stafford, Billy Hart, Paquito D’Rivera, Eric Alexander, and Lewis Nash, David Murray, and Wynton Marsalis among other. As a sideman Elio Villafranca has collaborated with leading jazz and Latin jazz artists including: Chick Corea, Jon Faddis, Billy Harper, Sonny Fortune, Giovanni Hidalgo, Miguel Zenón, and Johnny Pacheco among others. Villafranca is based in New York City and he is a faculty member of Temple University, Philadelphia, The Juilliard School of Music, New York University, and Manhattan School of Music in NYC.