Osmosis Saxophone Quartet (OSQ) was established in 2022 from four close saxophonist friends who are established soloists and pedagogues from Greece and Cyprus. They united their vision and forces under the umbrella of the quartet with the common aim to contribute in the advancement of the saxophone and chamber music in general, not only in Greece and Cyprus but in the wider Eastern Mediterranean area. They aim to revive through their artistic activities music works that have been “hidden” and forgotten, while, at the same time, to inspire living composers to create new works for the medium. For example, OSQ attempts to combine original and transcribed works by Giorgos Koumentakis with the renaissance melodies of another great Cretan composer, Franciscos Leondaritis (Francesco Londariti), showcasing in that way, that music is a never-ending attempt for emotional and intellectual expression of people of all periods. The quartet has performed as a solist with the State Symphony Orchestra of Thessaloniki, appeared at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, the Cultural Festival of the University of Cyprus, the Archaeological Museum of Chania and elsewhere. OSQ is in the process of recording their first CD with music by the composer Giorgos Koumentakis.
Christos Zenios (soprano saxophone) was born in 1991, in Strovolos, Nicosia. At the age of 6 he started accordion lessons and at the age of 16 he attained a Diploma in Accordion from “Thales” Music School of Greece with Distinction. At the age of 12 he started piano lessons and a few years later he started saxophone lessons.
He holds a BA in Music (Popular Music and Recording) with First Class Honours from the University of Salford, Manchester specialising in composition and saxophone performance, and an MA in Music Performance with Distinction, specialising in saxophone, during which he enrolled in music psychology and ethnomusicology classes, among others.
He has been a member and director of several ensembles, (sax quarters and choirs, jazz quartets, wind ensembles, contemporary music groups and more). He took part in concerts in Cyprus and abroad (Manchester Art Gallery Ensemble, Tempo a Tiempo, Chorlton Arts Festival and Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, Salford Sonic Fusion Festival etc.). Since September 2016 he has been working as a saxophone teacher in the Paphos Music School where he is the director of the school’s orchestra and saxophone choir.
Antonis Fotiadis (alto saxophone) started his musical lessons with the clarinet and the piano in Chalkidiki, Greece at the age of 9. He graduated with a clarinet diploma and an advanced music theory degree.
At the age of 18 he continued his music studies in the University of Macedonia in the Department of Music Science and Art, where he graduated in the specialization of Classical Saxophone Performance having Athanasios Zervas as professor. Parallel to this, he was studying in the same field at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki in Theofilos Sotiriades’ class. His studies continued in The Netherlands in Utrecht’s Conservatory where he acquired his Master’s degree in the field of Classical Saxophone Performance in Johan van der Linden’s class. Finally, he followed the one-year post-Graduate program “Performance & Practice in Contemporary Music” in Kunst Universität Graz with Klangforum Wien’s members as professors.
He has participated in many ensembles and orchestras in Greece and abroad while he has played as a soloist with the Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Thessaloniki. At the moment he is a member of “Osmosis” Saxopohne Quartet (Thessaloniki), New Generation Orchestra (Thessaloniki), an active member of the Association of Professional Saxophonists in Greece and he develops his own personal projects. Lastly, Antonis is a teacher of saxophone, clarinet and music theory lessons in various music schools in Greece.
Theofilos Sotiriadis (tenor saxophone) is a graduate of the Department of Psychology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a doctorate from the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia. He studied saxophone with honors at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, in Paris (École Nationale de Musique de Créteil) as a scholar of the State Scholarship Foundation, and in the USA (Bowling Green State University) working as an assistant professor in the studio of the doctor John Sampen, completing his master degree.
The development and dissemination of the Hellenic saxophone is a central axis of his artistic and educational activity through extensive recordings, official participation in international contemporary music festivals, concerts and scientific research. Distinguished Greek composers have dedicated their works in his honor, which he presented in first performances. His recording activity includes three personal digital recordings and seven participations.
He is the creator of the Macedonian Saxophone Quartet and the Osmosis saxophone quartet, the Saxarácas Saxophone Orchestra under the auspices of Thermi Municipal Conservatory, the Hellenic Saxophone Library (http://www.hellenicsax.gr) and a founding member of the Association of Professional Saxophone Musicians of Greece.
For more than twenty years he teaches saxophone at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki and the Municipal Conservatory of Thermi. His students have met a lot of success and distinctions in various artistic and professional fields. In the past, he taught at the Music School of Thessaloniki and in a number of municipal and private conservatories as well as saxophone specialisation seminars in Europe, Turkey and America. He is a scientific associate of the Department of Music of the European University of Cyprus and appointed part time lecturer at the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia.
For more information https://www.theofilossotiriadis.com/.
Dr. Yiannis Miralis (baritone saxophone) is Associate Professor of Music Education and Saxophone at European University Cyprus. He holds degrees from Michigan State University (PhD), Bowling Green State University (MM) and Lawrence University (BM), where he was a Fulbright scholar.
He was a founding member of the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra. As the first Cypriot classical saxophonist he has performed with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Philharmonia and has given chamber music recitals in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Serbia, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Lebanon, Canada and the USA. He is founding member of various chamber music ensembles in Cyprus, Greece and the USA. With the Transcontinental Saxophone Quartet they won various chamber music competitions in the USA. The quartet appeared as soloist with the Royal Belgian Air Force Band, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra and the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, while their CD “Mountain Roads” has received positive reviews. With the Mediterranean Trio (violin, saxophone and piano) they performed in Munich, Bonn, Berlin, Amsterdam and Nicosia. With the Osmosis Saxophone Quartet they have performed in Cyprus and Greece and have made their first recording with works by Greek composers. Finally, with the Mirabilis Saxophone Quartet they have performed in various venues in Cyprus, including the Presidential Palace and the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts.
He has taught at the University of Cyprus and the University of Windsor and he served as assistant professor at the Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho. He is founding member of the Greek and Cypriots Saxophone Associations, board member of the European Chamber Music Teachers’ Association (ECMTA) and co-chair of the Instrumental and Vocal Music Teaching Commission of the International Society for Music Education (ISME).
