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ABOUT
EFTIHIA PAPAGEORGIOU
Eftihia
Papageorgiou first began pursuing her passion for performing as a youth
during
tours of Europe, Greece, and Turkey with the Panagouda choir, based in
Thessaloniki, Greece. Years later and
thousands
of miles removed, she now is a familiar face as a performer and a music
educator in the Chicago metropolitan
area. Since 1992, she has been performing, providing individual
instruction in
piano and voice, directing choirs and musicals, and coaching vocalists
and vocal
ensembles.
Education
In
1997, Eftihia earned a Bachelor’s degree in both vocal performance and
psychology from Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), where as an
undergraduate she studied piano under the tutelage of
Dr. Elyse Mach
and voice
under Dr. Phyllis Hurt, as well as drama and dance.
As an undergraduate, Eftihia also studied
vocal pedagogy and opera under Dr. Ronald Combs.
Upon
auditioning for and being awarded a full scholarship to NEIU as a
graduate
student, Eftihia continued her study of vocal pedagogy and opera under
Dr.
Combs. As a
graduate student, her studies also included classical piano and extensive
research on classical, romantic, and contemporary French art
songs.
In 1999, Eftihia was awarded a Master’s
degree in
vocal pedagogy by NEIU. Eftihia
concluded her
graduate studies with a challenging recital thesis of French vocal
music of the 19th and
20th centuries, including a series of arias by Georges Bizet; Les Nuits
d'Été, a song cycle by Romantic composer
Hector Berlioz; Claude Debussy's Les Chansons de Bilitis; mélodies of Gabriel Fauré, Ernest
Chausson, and Olivier Messiaen; and Maurice Ravel's
Cinq
Mélodies Grecques.
A
Dedicated Educator
Since
1992, Eftihia has been providing individual instruction in piano and
voice to
youth and adults in Chicago and on all along the North Shore, drawing on her extensive performance experience and
educational background to encourage and challenge her students to
attain higher
levels of musicianship. Eftihia also
has nearly 10 years of experience teaching music and the Greek
language at
Greek schools throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
From
2002 through 2007, she held the position of Choral Director at Chicago
International Charter School Northtown Academy Campus and its
predecessor, Good
Counsel High School. Her highly praised curriculum included ear training,
music
theory,
and music history. As Choral Director, she also
was instrumental in the production of the musicals Fiddler
on the Roof, Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls,
and Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, to rave reviews.
Since 2004, Eftihia has been the guest vocal instructor for the Orpheus
Hellenic
Folklore Society. She led the Orpheus
choral group to a
first-place finish competing against choirs from all over the nation in the Choral
Competition at the 2006 Greek
Orthodox
Folk Dance and Choral Festival (FDF), where Eftihia was awarded FDF’s
prestigious Choir
Director Award.
Numerous students of Eftihia have gone on to
pursue higher education in
music and have successfully pursued careers in music and music related
fields.
Performing Experience
Eftihia was a regular,
featured soloist for and a member of NEIU's Chorus, which
performed a varied repertoire of classical works, madrigals, masses.
Her undergraduate education culminated in a highly praised
recital featuring classical works by prominent
Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn, Baroque Italian composers
Giovanni Paisiello and Alessandro Scarlatti, and German operatic
reformer Christoph von Gluck.
Eftihia has performed in numerous productions of the
works of
Italian, American, Russian, and French composers. As
a lyrical soprano, Eftihia has performed lead
roles in Puccini’s Gianni Schichi,
Cimarosa’s Secret Marriage, and Rorem’s What
Men Live By, as well as leading
roles in selections from Puccini’s acclaimed
Madame Butterfly, Mozart’s legendary Magic
Flute, Thomas’s Mignon,
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Menotti’s The
Saint of Bleecker Street.
Eftihia also performs as
a featured soloist at popular Chicago venues, at
weddings and other special events, and she has
been honored to appear as a guest performer at the Northshore Center
for the
Performing Arts.
Founding
ODEION
In 2006, Eftihia
founded Odeion School of Music, where she oversees the
music
education of students enrolled in individual lessons for piano,
voice,
guitar, violin, and other instruments, as well as students enrolled in music theory and
other group classes. Through Odeion, she
also offers individual instruction on a limited basis and offers
open-enrollment
group classes such as vocal performance workshops, music theory for
adults, and
music fundamentals for young children.
Combining
her commitment to education with her dedication
to her Hellenic heritage, Eftihia founded the Chicago Hellenic Choir in
2004, which became a program of Odeion in 2006.
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