HOW POPULAR IS JAZZ IN GREECE? A SUMMER JAZZ FESTIVAL IN ATHENS
Abstract
In the summer of 2018, the second Aqua Jazz festival took place in the spaces of Athens Conservatory as part of one of the oldest festivals in Greece, the Athens Festival. It was the first time a music festival became part of another and devoted its concept to Mediterranean jazz in collaboration with the Athens Conservatory, the Berklee Global Jazz Institute and the Ionian University Jazz Program. Combining performances, seminars and discussions, it became a meeting point for national and international musicians. So what brought jazz in such a big festival in Greece? This paper will unravel the status of jazz in Athens Festival reaching eventually this festival in a festival. It will highlight the role of space as crucial for the dissemination of the jazz music genre and festivals as cultural promoters of it and it will emphasize the power and ability of festivals as a sui generis tool for introducing and promoting music genres.s festival in a festival. It will highlight the role of space as crucial for the dissemination of the jazz music genre and festivals as cultural promoters of it and it will emphasize the power and ability of festivals as a sui generis tool for introducing and promoting music genres.
Biography
Dr Vasiliki Sirakouli holds a postdoctoral post at the School of Architecture, DUTH, researching space and music, after a corresponding post at the Department of Fine Arts and Arts Science, UoI, and a teaching fellow post in music geography, mapping and networks at undergraduate level at NKUoA. Since her undergraduate years, she took part in the first large scale ethnographic projects on the culture of Northern Greece and acquired extended experience through numerous projects with public and private organizations, foundations, associations and institutes. She is a managing editor at the Journal of Festive Studies.