Porfiriadis Alexis
Alexis Porfiriadis is a composer, pianist and improviser. Since 2008 he composes mainly verbal and graphic open form scores that encourage collaboration and collective decisions between the performers. His PhD research was also investigating the mechanisms of decision making in music groups. His music has been played in numerous festivals, including Just Fest Volume 1.5 Russia, ISCM 2013 Slovakia, SITE Festival UK, Dimitria Festival Thessaloniki/Greece, Festival Molina el Segura/Spain. Alexis has worked as a composer with 6daEXIt Improvisation Ensemble, WHI ensemble, InEnsemble, Ghost Ensemble, Ensemble x.y, Vault of Blossomed Ropes, Molinari Quartet Montreal, Ensemble Dissonart, Ensemble Wiener Collage, ARS MUSICANDUM Sax-Quartet, Vocalsolisten Graz, Ensemble Ensuite Graz. As a performer he plays in 6daEXIt Improvisation Ensemble, WHI ensemble and has performed together with a large number of improvisers in Greece, Serbia and Austria.
Alexis studied Composition in Bath Spa University/UK (PhD, 2016), supervised by James Saunders. He also studied Composition with Gerd Kühr (MA, 2002), Beat Furrer (Postgraduate, 2004) and Mathias Spahlinger (Klangwege 2003) in University for Music and Performing Arts Graz/Austria. Selected prizes and awards including Music Promotion Prize of Graz, the Austrian State grand for Composition 2003/04, the Scholarship for special academic achievements of the Austrian Ministry of Science and Culture, the Carl Michael Ziehrer Trust Scholarship, the Third Prize at the Second International competition for Composition for String Quartet by Molinari Quartet 2005.
He has taught Improvisation, Music Theory Schedules, Instrumentation, Orchestration and Musical Analysis in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, in Municipal Conservatory of Amarousion, in State School of Dance Athens. Since 2007 he has convened improvisation and graphic/verbal notation workshops in several other academic and non-academic contexts
