MUSIC ARTISTS
London-based Musician, Singer and Songwriter
Taliya Khafizou
Taliya Hafiz is a Lonodon based singer-songwriter, composer, producer born in Kerynia whose multi-lingual abilities see her make music with lyrics in seven different languages including English, French and Japanese. With English being the language of her mind, French the language of her heart and the Turkic dialect of Tatar the tongue of her DNA, she flutters between the varying vehicles of speech to best suit her current artistic expression.
Sharing her spellbinding vocal prowess and songwriting talents, she released a string of stunning singles over the last 5 years and a debut record titled “Sensations” in 2021, which won several awards including Best Album by Music Durham in the UK, Best Love Songs from BHW in the USA and Top Chansons Françaises from Références Bien Être in France.
Taliya has collaborated with Billboard charting and Hollywood award nominated producer Art Tawanghar, took part in Grammys 2020 ceremony with “Morning Dew” and was air-played on BBC Music Introducing with “Connect to the Stars”.
She performs as a solo artist and also with her pop-soul band “EXXPORT” based in Cyprus and the UK.
Contact details: taliyakhafizova@gmail.com
London-based Musician (Bass Player)
Vassilis Lazouras
Vassilis Lazouras is a professional bass player and music tutor. He got involved with music at young age and he is now working in London as a professional musician and a freelance bassist, after graduating from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. Over the last years, he has performed live at many different venues in London and abroad. Most recently he had the opportunity to work with well known music producers/engineers such as Sam Miller (Paloma Faith, Christina Aguilera, PJ Harvey, The Temperance Movement, One Direction, Razorlight, The Magic Numbers) and Steve Lyon (Depeche Mode, The Cure, Paul McCartney, George Best, Laura Pausini) and to perform next to great musicians such as the session guitarist Joon Switon (The Roots, Compton, Les Nubians, Ayo, Eric Roberson and more), the L.A. based jazz singer Tricia Tahara (Patrice Rushen, Alphonso Johnson, Lenny White, Nungu Chancler), percussionist João Caetano (Incognito, Chaka Khan, Mario Biondi, Omar, PB Underground) and guitarist Tolis Zavaliaris (Pete Lockett, Laurence Cottle, Neil Angilley, Vanessa Mae).
Contact details: info@vassilislazourasmusic.com
London-based Theatre Director, Singer, Interactive Performance, Installation Artist
Pavlos Christodoulou
I am an artist and theatre maker working at the intersection of live art, immersive experience and performance. I’ve worked as a director and maker in theatres and festivals across the UK and have experience working with artistic collaborators, professional actors, young people and different communities. At the heart of my work is the invitation to play, and in accepting this invitation, an audience forms a temporary community that thinks collectively about complex ideas through games and joyful encounters. I often focus on ‘small p’ politics and finding the grey in an attempt to resist binaries. My work is optimistic about the power and desire of people to imagine a better world and way of living. It can look very different every time, and I believe in creating transparent structures that openly declare how they work to make the work accessible and unintimidating. I am currently developing a series of work under the name Chatterbox, a standalone audio immersive experience tailored to a variety of topics that invites audiences into a sound world which can facilitate them slowing down and encountering ideas and each other in a new way.
Contact details: pavlos.c.artist@gmail.com
Manchester-based Singer-Songwriter
Effi-Nicki
Effi-Nicki is a 23 year old vocalist and songwriter based in Manchester. On the 26th January, she released her R&B/Soul inspired debut single '24/7 LOVE'. Despite being born in England, her family heritage is Greek-Cypriot. Effi-Nicki has performed nationally from a young age, through music, dance and theatre. During her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, she began working with acclaimed musicians and artists, such as Cian Ducrot, Boney M and the AMX Choir. These experiences have resulted in Effi-Nicki’s refined versatility, performing in renowned venues like the NEC, The Deaf Institute, KOKO, Manchester Opera House and London’s The O2 Arena, with Cian Ducrot as part of The National Television Awards. Inspired by live music, Effi-Nicki's sound is influenced by artists such as Snoh Aalegra, Amy Winehouse and RAYE. Her debut single '24/7 LOVE' is about a personal relationship, being in the honeymoon stage where you have so much love but there's never enough time to give it, almost bittersweet. To celebrate the release of her debut single, Effi-Nicki is putting on a single launch show at Off The Square in Manchester, on Saturday 10th February.
Contact details: effi-nicki@hotmail.co.uk
Maidstone based Composer
Rania Chrysostomou
Rania Chrysostomou collaborated with Canadian experimental soprano Sarah Parkin and filmmaker Catherine Valve to develop the one-woman micro-opera On Being Vocal that premiered in September 2023 at the Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival 2023 and Wandsworth Arts Fringe Festival 2024. The opera is about emotional processing. In June 2022 she produced the Greek melodrama 'Stories, Odes and Chants' that performed in Cyprus. It told the story of a young lady in a time long ago who went on a quest to find a mystical spider who weaved magical mantles that brought prosperity to anyone who had it. The show featured poems by living Cypriot poets and traditional poems that she set to music. Other notable commissions and collaborations: 'Statue of the Earth', inspired by the ancient Greek Goddess Hestia, commissioned by British singer - violist Katherine Clarke, performed in 2020 in London. 'Tillein for an intimate percussionist' inspired by trichotillomania disorder and performed at PASIC (Percussion Arts Society International Convention) in Indianapolis in 2021, USA, by Dr. Alex Fragiskatos. 'Lockdown Diaries: The Death', commissioned and performed by Skipton Camerata in autumn 2020.
Contact details: rania.chrys@gmail.com
Surrey-based Actor, Actress, Singer and Theatre Producer
Elena Hadjiafxendi
Elena Hadjifaxendi is a Greek-Cypriot actress and soprano. Elena studied Opera at the Conservatory Elefthero in Greece, acting at the Drama School of National Theatre of Northern Greece and musical theatre at the Associated Studios in London. She graduated from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with BA (Hons) Primary School Education and from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens with an MA in Drama and Education.
She has worked in the UK and Europe (Cyprus, Greece, Italy) with directors and musicians in classical and contemporary theatre, in musical theatre, operettas, cinema and television. These include but are not limited to Heinz-Uwe Haus, Fabio Tolledi, Mikis Theodorakis, George Hatzinasios, Spyros Evaggelatos, Alexandros Evklidis, Thanos Mikroutsikos, Elli Papakonstantinou.
Performance highlights include: EU IMMIGRANTS (Round House and Tate Modern, London), Cyprus’s Rhymes of Love (Paphos), Oedipus Rex and Women in Parliament ( Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus), The Daughter of the Storm (Athens Festival), Axios Esti (Union Chapel, London), The Lady from the Sea (National Theatre of Cyprus - THOC).
Contact details: ehadjiafxendi@yahoo.com
London-based Songwriter, Music Producer and Pianist
Zina Melekki
Zina is a pianist and composer from Cyprus based in London. She specialises in creating music that blends piano and strings to craft cinematic atmospheres. Her journey as a musician began at the age of 14, when she decided to pursue her passion for music. She started learning the piano and continued her musical education at the University of Surrey. Zina's music has been featured in BBC playlists, animations, short films and art exhibits. Her ultimate dream is to create music that transports people to different places and stirs a range of emotions. Zina released her most recent piano album, "Places," last October, marking her second piano album release. This album is a reflection of her inspiration drawn from the people and places that surround her.
Contact details: melekkizina@gmail.com
London-based Conductor
Dimitri Chrysostomou
Born and raised in London with Cypriot roots, Dimitri decided to pursue music as a career in his
late teens. He studied music at the University of Birmingham, specialising in Eastern European
orchestral music, orchestration and solo performance.
Currently, Dimitri wears multiple hats - He is the Founder and Musical Director of Hapax
Orchestra, a new ensemble for music students and early career musicians. He also serves as
the Executive Producer/Artistic Director of Silent Composition, a project pairing contemporary
composers with silent movies for live to picture performances.
Additionally, he directs the Beckenham Concert Band and has guest conducted with amateur
groups across the south of England.
After University, Dimitri continued to hone his conducting skills, learning from mentors like
Howard Williams, John Farrer, Mark Heron and Finnish pedagogue Jorma Panula.
Beyond Conducting, Dimitri teaches, manages the London Conducting Workshop, and is deputy
Manager for New Surrey Performing Arts Library. In a nutshell, Dimitri's life revolves around
music, from performing and conducting to educating and managing musical initiatives.
Contact details: dimitri@dimitrichrysostomou.com
Kent-based Pianist, Musicologist
Ourania Menelaou
Ourania Menelaou was born in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Ourania has studied at the Prague Conservatory, at the Charles University of Prague and the University of Iowa, where she was awarded a teaching assistantship. She holds the diploma Laureat de l’ Academie de Lausanne and has been invited to participate in Music Festivals in the U.S and Europe as a soloist and as a member of chamber music ensembles.
Beside her career as a pianist Ourania has been researching and studying the piano music of the 19th and 20th century. She did extended research on music of the Czech composer Leoš Janáček and the Greek composer Nikos Skalkottas. Ourania is a lecturer at the New York University in Prague and a lecturer for the American organisation Road Scholars. Since 2011 she is been working in a research program on studies in contemporary piano music at Goldsmiths University in London, UK.
Contact details: om19@nyu.edu