Orpheus Music Group

Orpheus Music Ensemble Auditions

June 12, Thursday, Northbrook 5:30-6:30 p.m.

June 18, Thursday, Northbrook 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Following the success of last year's junior and adult music ensembles, the Orpheus Hellenic Folklore Society is pleased to announce a new series of auditions for new members. The goals of the ensemble are to introduce Greek American children to the art of playing Greek folk music and to accompany the various Orpheus Dance Troupes at festivals, performances and competitions.

We are looking for students of all age levels who have achieved intermediate and advanced musical levels on the following instruments: clarinet, violin, percussion, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, as well as any traditional Greek folk instrument.

The ensemble will meet one to two times per week (depending on size and skill level) at the Orpheus practice facilities in Northbrook . Target times are 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Final times and dates will be determined once registration has been completed.

Fees for these sessions will be determined based on registration.

Instructional sessions will be directed by Eve Monzingo and George Lawler. Their biographies are provided below. We are excited to have instructors of this caliber available for the Orpheus sessions. Jim Stoynoff, a well know clarinet player within the Greek community, will also be assisting as a consultant in this program.

Audition Requirements

Student must demonstrate a certain level of technical ability on their instrument by playing a melody, etude or scales of their own choosing.

Students must also demonstrate an ability to learn by ear as demonstrated by learning one or more of the selections from the repertoire CD available. The music selection for the audition is the Pyrgousikos dance. An MP3 file along with sheet notes are available from the links listed below. Contact Yannis Economou at 847-657-0958 or at orpheus@ohfs.org for additional information.

Pyrgousikos Music File (mp3 file) Pyrgousikos Sheet Notes (pdf file)

Students who plan to audition on percussion should practice playing along with the CD and attempt to transcribe the rhythms in order to demonstrate an understanding of rhythms. Greek percussion instruments will be introduced at the audition and will be available during class hours and for performances.
Complete the following information and submit it at the time of the audition:

Name, Age, Address, Phone #, email
Instrument
How long have you been playing?
Do you play a second instrument?
Is this your first time playing by ear?
Have you had private or group lessons?
Do you play in band or orchestra? Where?
Have you ever participated in any contests or auditions?
Can you read music...if so, how long have you been reading music?

Benefits of participation in the Orpheus ensemble:

Students will develop aural skills by learning songs by ear thus improving concentration, memorization and intonation.

Students will develop an appreciation for, and an interest in, the musical traditions of the many varying regions of Greece.

Students will develop a heightened sense of rhythm that will benefit all other aspects of their musical and dance development. All students will learn basic percussion in order to understand and internalize the Greek dance rhythms.

Students will experience a sense of accomplishment, achievement and stage presence as they develop technical and aural skills on their instruments that will benefit many other aspects of their lives.

George Lawler and Eve Monzingo

Accomplished percussionist and drum maker, George Lawler, learned the art of Arabic, North African and Balkan percussion from his Tunisian teacher, Nagib Bahri. Over the years, George developed an apprenticeship /internist role with Mr. Bahri leading classes on percussion and drum making at his workshop in Chicago and touring the United States performing Arabic percussion for belly dance competitions.

George has performed in France, Spain, Turkey, Bulgaria and the Netherlands with his Middle East/Balkan ensemble, Lamajamal, and has toured the U.S. and appeared on the Conan O'Brien Show with the 30 piece, self described, 'circus-punk' marching band, Mucca Pazza. George has also toured the U.S. with the rock festival tour "Warped".

Here in Chicago, George plays Greek folk percussion with clarinetist and local legend, Jim Stoynoff. He also plays congas and bongos with the African band, The Occidental Brothers Dance Band International, drum kit and gongs with the Chinese surf group, Red Chamber, and finally, Indian Tablas with the the DJ group, Bombay Beatbox.

George specialized in custom made frame drums and tambourines (defis) and is currently working with Loyola University Ceramics Professor, Vesna Jovanovich on handmade clay drums commonly known as daraboukas or touberlekis. His workmanship can be read about and viewed at his website, Jamoflage.com.

George Lawler is a veteran of world and American music. He has performed on over 40 recording of rock, jazz, regge, Arabic, and Balkan music going back to the 1980s. He produces and records in his home studio as well. George teaches private lessons on percussion, drum kit and guitar. George holds a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Illinois.

Eve Monzingo is a talented multi-instrumentalist who specializes in folk music of the Balkans, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. She was recently featured playing clarinet, santouri, flute and percussion in the Goodman Theatre production of Mirror of the Invisible World, directed and adapted by Tony Award winning director Mary Zimmerman.

Eve has performed in Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Germany, England and France with the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble, Die Naye Kaplye, (both Jewish folk music groups) and Lamajamal (mid-eastern/balkan music). Eve has also toured various parts of the U.S. with the comedic marching band Mucca Pazza (Italian for Mad Cow).
Eve began her journey into folk music by earning the Ethnic Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the Illinois Art Council to study Greek clarinet music under Jim Stoynoff when she was still a teenager. She then went on to earn scholarships to attend various folk music conferences, including the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and Culture (commonly call Klezcamps), the Eastern European Folklife Group's Balkan Music and Dance Camps, and Simon Shaheen's Arabic Music Retreat.

Eve received a bachelor of arts degree from Roosevelt University where she studied classical compostion and music theory with Dr. Robert Lombardo. Her composition credits include 1st prize in the American Jewish Song Festival (1994), 2nd prize in the Midwest American Chapter of Women Composers competition (1996), and 2nd prize for her string quartet in the Virginia and Seymour LaRock Composition Competition (2001). Her compositions are featured on the recordings "Sweet Home Bukovina" by the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble (1996) and “Trumpets" by the Amsterdam based klezmer group, DiFidl-Kapelye(2006).

Eve has taught group ensembles and workshops at the Old Town School of Music, KlezKanada in Montreal, the University of Chicago and Roosevelt University. She taught private lessons on piano, clarinet, flute and saxophone at Leapin' Lyrics Music School in Geneva Illinois for over five years and currently teaches private lessons from her home in Chicago.

Jim Stoynoff

Jim is a native Chicagoan who began studying the clarinet in 1962. Since that time he has specialized in the research, preservation and performance of Greek Folk Music, with particular emphasis on the regional folk clarinet styles of Epiros, Macedonia, Central Greece and Turkey.

Since 1965 Jim has performed regularly at major functions within these ethnic communities and has appeared with various groups throughout the U.S. He also gives lecture/performances and authors articles on the Balkan clarinet for various publications. Since 1986 he has appeared annually at various events sponsored by the Chicago Cultural Center, and performs with the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra. He is performing as part of the Silk Road residency, 9/06 thru 9/07 in Chicago, and recently made two appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for the opening of the Chicago World Music Festival.

He has designed and is co-curetting the Hellenic Museum & Cultural Center’s exhibit Road to Rembetika (June 06 through January 07), and is building HMCC’s archive and permanent exhibit of instruments and discography for it’s new facilities.