Inspired by the infinite sonic possibilities of the guitar, Stelios’ activities range from contemporary music to classical guitar with a strong focus on improvisation. Equally committed to the nylon as well as the electric guitar he combines elements of both worlds in his sound.
His guitar has gotten him from playing dive bars & sticky basements to accompanying divas in prestigious concert halls, as well as rocking out in stadiums.
Based in NYC he is currently splitting his time between his own projects, freelancing & teaching.
In the summer of 2017 he was invited to perform with the performer, writer & multi-grammy recipient René Juan Pérez Joglar, known professionally as Residente, as part of the Spanish leg of their world tour.
Earlier on, he recorded with pianist & composer Leo Genovese’s cross genre large ensemble ‘the Legal Aliens’ in their 2016 album after the group performed in & around NY.
In June of the same year he released an album of acoustic improvisations in duo with NYC based bassist Zach Swanson, Chamber Music as in the music of friends.
In 2015 he got invited to join a large ensemble, this time by the NYC based multi instrumentalist Daniel Carter. The Listening Group went on to play the Forward Festival in NY in 2015 and 2016 and is preparing its first release on 577 records in 2018.
Prior to the Listening Group Stelios had been in the studio with Daniel twice in 2015 to record two sessions of free improvisation.
‘Unanimity’ featuring fellow greek drummer George Spanos, clarinetist Vasko Dukovski & Kansas based bassist Jeff Harshbarger was recorded in September of 2015 while a couple months earlier in June ‘Why not Now?’ was recorded with Aleksandar Petrov on drums & Francesco Marcocci on Bass. Leo Genovese guested the recording on bandoneon.
During the same summer he recorded an album his native Athens, Greece with the Meating for Business group led by Don Stavrinos. The album was mixed & mastered in NYC in 2017 by Jeremy Loucas and will be released in 2018.
In 2014 and after 3 summers of collaboration, a record of (mostly) original intuitive music was released by ‘Surd’ : a trio formed with long time friends & partners in crime, composer Nikos Ioakeim & multi instrumentalist Alexis Kotsopoulos.
Between 2006-13 he composed, toured & recorded in the US with acclaimed singer Arooj Aftab.
In 2008 he recorded & toured with the award winning Banda Eclectics based in Boston, MA.
Stelios is also an active music educator. After being a faculty member of the South Shore Conservatory in Boston he has joined the faculty at Ezra Guitar based in Brooklyn, NY. Since 2014 he also is running his own distinguished music studio at Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
After completing studies on Musicology and Classical Guitar in Athens, he moved to Boston, MA to study Contemporary Guitar at Berklee College of Music with jazz greats such as Mick Goodrick, Ed Tomassi, Hal Crook & Dave Santoro.
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