Biography
Ilias Zoutsos, originating from Crete (Greece), is a remarkable creator and performer. A virtuoso on the Cretan lyra, a soloist on the classical violin, as well as a Doctor of Music Studies at the School of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he is a case of an international and charismatic artist beyond the usual categories.
Authentic and always innovative, drawing upon his experience and knowledge, with his path opens up new ways in music.
A central role in his work is held by the tradition of Greece, and especially of Crete, where in a completely natural way, due to the geographic position, East and West meet and interact with traditions that date back to the centuries touching even great civilizations of the ancient world.
Ilias Zoutsos is a carrier of these traditions, so in the same natural way they pulse within his music, they exist in the present. What’s distinctive, however, is that as a creator, he manages both to compose them and to generate new art that doesn’t at all simply occur from a mere “marrying up” of individual elements, but on the contrary constitutes his own unique and distinct artistic world.
Thus, through contemporary creation, the continuity in the archetypal triptych Past-Present-Future is ensured, something very important in an era of fragmentation like today’s, as well as the unity in Art, Life and the Human.
Throughout history, in human civilization, music is closely connected with the spiritual or sacred element. From a very young age, Ilias Zoutsos discovers this relationship as well as its power to shape people through an almost transcendental experience and communication with both the inner selves and the external world, and finally to transform them.
He believes that this reveals the great educational value of music, as well as the particular importance it holds, along with songs, as a consoling art, but also as a determining need for interpreting human existence as a whole.
In this regard and considering also his role as a music educator, a significant social dimension arises in his overall work, one of whose goals is to positively influence both the individual and collective aspects in a society no longer seen as numbers, but as faces.
Ilias Zoutsos is a musical personality with awards, international distinctions and rich discography. A virtuoso of many musical instruments himself, he has cooperated with important musicians from an extremely wide range of traditions that spanning from Greece and the East to classical music, rock and jazz. Among others, he performs on the lyra, the classical violin, the lute, the guitar and the voice.
He has played and sung in some of the world's largest theaters and concert venues: Auditorio Nacional de Musica - Madrid, Thailand Cultural Centre - Thailand, Ancient Theater of Ephesus, Town Hall - New York, Megaron Concert Halls (Athens and Thessaloniki) as well as at Acropolis for the International Music Day, where he performs as a soloist on the violin interpreting Beethoven and Saint-Saens accompanied by the Athens Symphony Orchestra.
He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the orchestral and vocal ensemble “Palmós” and he has collaborated, toured worldwide and shared the stage with great artists such as Lucas David, Giannis Markopoulos, Thanasis Papakonstantinou, Lena Platonos, Manos Eleftheriou, Ross Daly, Dimitris Apostolakis (Hainis), Giannis Haroulis and Psarogiorgis. He is a permanent member of the Athens Symphony Orchestra (First violins) and has collaborated with the Orchestra of the Greek National Opera, and with the American television network PBS providing his music for a series of documentary programs.