1. John Psathas, was born on Ioannis Psathas, Greek: ; 1966 and is a New Zealand Greek composer.
12 Facts About John Psathas
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John Psathas has works in the repertoire of such high-profile musicians as Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman and the New Juilliard Ensemble, and is one of New Zealand's most frequently performed composers.
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John Psathas has established an international profile and receives regular commissions from organisations in New Zealand and overseas.
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The son of Greek immigrant parents, Psathas grew up in Taumarunui and then Napier.
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John Psathas attended Napier Boys' High School and left early to study composition and piano at Victoria University of Wellington.
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John Psathas supported himself as a student partly by playing up to nine gigs a week in a jazz trio.
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John Psathas studied further with composer Jacqueline Fontyn in Belgium before returning to New Zealand, where he has since lectured in music at Victoria University and continued to fulfill a busy schedule of commissions.
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John Psathas was named in 2003 as the recipient of one of five Arts Foundation of New Zealand Artist Laureate Awards, which carry cash prizes of $40,000.
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In 2004 John Psathas achieved the largest audience for New Zealand-composed music when billions heard his fanfares and other music at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympics.
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John Psathas won his third Best Classical Album award in the 2007 New Zealand Music Awards, for View from Olympus.
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In 2014 Psathas was awarded a Higher Doctorate of Music by Victoria University of Wellington for his substantial contribution to New Zealand music, and embarked on an ambitious international project as part of New Zealand's WW100 programme to mark the centenary of World War I The result of this two-year collaboration with film makers and 150 musicians from all over the world was No Mans Land, a multimedia work including film, live performance and pre-recorded musical score.
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In 2018 John Psathas retired from his long university tenure to become a full-time freelance composer, and was granted the position of Emeritus Professor at the New Zealand School of Music.