Welcome to the John Psathas Portal
New Zealand, Greek composer Ioannis (John) Psathas has a history of large-scale collaborative projects (such as writing for the ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and collaborating with iconic artists such as Salman Rushdie, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Serj Tankian, Oum, and many others). Following three decades of creating works for traditional ensembles (particularly in the world of percussion) the nature of John's work has now shifted into a space of urgent social commentary, combining a range of live performance formats and technologies. Having collaborated in electronica, pop, classical, jazz, and multi-ethnic projects, he is now weaving these strands into new work that integrates virtuosic live performance with video, text, and cinematic soundscapes.
Working on
- Marimba and Tape work for Conrado Moya (Spain)
- New Work for Ju Percussion Group (Taiwan)
- Marimba Duo for Pedro Carneiro and Katarzyna Mycka (Portugal/Germany)
- Orbital Adaptation for Human Ensemble (Italy)
- Percussion and Tape Solo for Fabian Ziegler (Switzerland)
- Viola Concerto for Hiyoli Togawa (Germany/NZ)
- Double Percussion Concerto for Duo Lin-Lynn (Taiwan/USA)
Preparing for
- Melbourne Visit (Australia)
- Amsterdam Marimba weekend (Netherlands)
- IKMAA (Slovenia)
- World Premiere with Ju Percussion (Taiwan)
- Recording Timpani Album (Japan)
- TCU Percussion Festival (USA)
- John Psathas Group performances (Europe/USA)
- Paris in the Rain with Michael Houstoun and Jack Hooker (NZ)
Recently Completed
- The John Psathas Group Inaugural Tour (NZ)
- Residency in Siena (Italy)
- Taipei International Percussion Festival – TIPC (Taiwan)
- Utah and Tallahassee Residencies (USA)
- Voices at the End solo shows (NZ/Netherlands/Northern Ireland)
- Jikan, new work for marimba and timpani (Japan)
- SoundCloud Complete Works playlist
Upcoming Events
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Featured Works
All Music
The Jagged Stone (string quintet)
2025
Songs for Simon (piano, audio track)
2010
RealBadNow (solo percussion, audio track, video)
2021
No Man’s Land (mixed ensemble, audio track, video)
2016
About John
Ioannis (John) Psathas is a New Zealand–Greek composer with a history of large-scale collaborative projects (such as writing for the ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and collaborating with iconic artists such as Salman Rushdie, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Serj Tankian, Oum, and many others).
In the last decade, the nature of his work has shifted into a space of urgent social commentary, combining a range of live performance formats and technologies.
Having collaborated in electronica, pop, classical, jazz, and multi-ethnic projects, he is now weaving these strands into new work that integrates virtuosic live performance with video, text, and cinematic soundscapes.
In the last decade, the nature of his work has shifted into a space of urgent social commentary, combining a range of live performance formats and technologies.
Having collaborated in electronica, pop, classical, jazz, and multi-ethnic projects, he is now weaving these strands into new work that integrates virtuosic live performance with video, text, and cinematic soundscapes.
Read more about John
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