Near to Far East:Cyprus Kollective Big Band

The Cyprus Kollective Big Band presents, in a Cyprus premiere at the Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival, the iconic work Far East Suite by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

Far East Suite is one of the most fascinating and distinctive creations in the body of work of Ellington and Strayhorn. It is a reflective, atmospheric, virtuosic, and expressive sonic journey through the East, seen and heard through the eyes and ears of the two musicians.

In 1963, Ellington’s orchestra embarked on a tour of Syria, Jordan, India, Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon), Pakistan, Iran (then Persia), Lebanon, and Turkey. These travels, together with a tour of Japan in 1964, served as the primary inspiration for the creation of a nine-movement musical suite.

Far East Suite was intended to convey the excitement and sense of wonder experienced by the orchestra as they travelled through places that were genuinely foreign, exotic, and profoundly different from anything most of them had encountered before. All of this is reflected in the music – its themes, motifs, structure, harmonic developments, and artistic ideas.

Duration: 60’

Marios Charalampous – Alto saxophone

Nicholas Georgiou – Alto saxophone

Will Scott – Tenor saxophone/Clarinet

Thomas Lumley – Tenor saxophone

Charis Ioannou – Baritone saxophone

George El Haber – Trumpet

Elias Ioannou – Trumpet

Rafael Orfanides – Trumpet

Andreas Theocharous – Trombone

Klitos Pavlou – Trombone

Savvas Athanasiou – Trombone

Andreas Panteli – Piano

Kyriakos Kesta – Double bass

Omiros Miltiadous – Drums

The concert is held with free admission as part of the 21st Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival. Ticket reservation is required and does not constitute a seat reservation, as the number of chairs available at the venue will be limited.

The concerts will take place at the SEK Parking Area (behind the Rialto Theatre).