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international Pharos Chamber Music Festival


The Pharos Arts Foundation's Concert and Recital Series culminate each May with the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival, which has gained international reputation for its quality concerts and magnificent settings. The Festival has become one of Europe's preeminent music festivals, guided by a visionary spirit and dedicated to artistic excellence and innovation. Contributing to its magic is the Festival's unique setting, the surrounding of the magnificent ancient town of Palaipaphos. The majority of the concerts take place at the Gothic Hall of The Royal Manor House at Kouklia, one of the finest surviving monuments of Frankish architecture on the island and an unparalleled venue for intimate chamber music performances. Concerts also take place at the Foundation's venues, The Shoe Factory in Nicosia and the open-air The Olive Grove in Delikipos. Exploring the many forms of the genre of chamber music, the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival encompasses an astonishing array of instrumental combinations and repertoire, ranging from early Baroque to 20th century music, and maintains a strong tradition of community service, with educational concerts organised for students of the surrounding areas.



International Pharos contemporary Music Festival

In 2009, the Pharos Arts Foundation introduced the International Pharos Contemporary Music Festival, the mission of which is to propagate the music of 20th and 21st centuries and to present contemporary works and newly-commissioned compositions. Under the artistic direction of composer Evis Sammoutis, the Festival has so far presented over 50 world premieres by a number of exceptionally gifted contemporary composers from all over the world. Having already established itself as one of the most cutting-edge and innovative annual events in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Festival is dedicated to the promotion of new music: The well-established masterpieces of the contemporary music literature of the 20th century as well as a great number of premieres by young leading composers from all over the world who are commissioned by the Pharos Arts Foundation to write new works especially for this occasion. Its objective is to provide a forum for composers and performers to advance and develop new projects and explore new sound worlds, as well as to endorse contemporary music to the general audience of Cyprus, and elsewhere. As part of the Festival's activities, a number of educational events are organized such as master-classes for young instrumentalists and workshops for composers.

VENUES

The Royal Manor House in Kouklia is one of the finest surviving monuments of Frankish architecture on the island and an unparalleled venue for intimate chamber music performances. The building also houses an archaeological museum, which records the rich history of human activity in the region from about 2800 BC to the present day. The Royal Manor House, which is part of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation’s “Aphrodite’s Cultural Route”, is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Palaipaphos, or Old Paphos, was a city-kingdom of Cyprus and one of the most celebrated pilgrimage centres of the ancient Greek world. It was the site of a famous sanctuary of Aphrodite, the oldest remains of which date back to the 12th century BC. Join us in a leisurely exploration of the history and cultural heritage of the western region of Cyprus.

The Shoe Factory is situated in the old part of Nicosia, near the buffer zone. Through it, the Pharos Arts Foundation is helping to revitalize this beautiful and historic section of the capital city by attracting a wide and diversified younger audience. All concerts are characterized by a unique feeling of intimacy and music is performed in an exceptionally inspiring setting: a modern venue decorated with contemporary art by mainly local artists; a venue situated in the “run down” part of Nicosia that offers the audience the unique opportunity to sit within an amazing proximity to world famous artists and experience performances in a venue like no other.

The Olive Grove is a world-class, open-air concert venue, which aims to deliver relaxed and informal events so that intimacy is developed between the artists and the audience. The venue is surrounded by the idyllic forest of Delikipos and is adorned with wooden decks, shallow pools of water, zen landscaping and a uniquely atmospheric lighting. The audience can relax on the chairs, blankets and pillows with a glass of wine.