Panayiotis Kokoras is an internationally acclaimed composer and computer music innovator, currently serving as Regents Professor of Composition and Director of CEMI (Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia) at the University of North Texas. Trained in classical guitar and composition in Athens, Greece, and York, England (MA, PhD), his work explores “holophonic musical texture,” where each sound contributes equally to the whole. Kokoras has garnered commissions and fellowships from prestigious institutions like the Guggenheim Foundation and IRCAM. His compositions, known for their “virtuosity of sound,” have been performed globally, earning 95 international awards. A founding member of the Hellenic Electroacoustic Music Composers Association, he served as its president and now leads the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music (ICEM). He also regularly serves as a jury member in composition competitions and conferences.

About the piece

Bellowfor accordion and fixed electronics. was completed in spring 2021 and commissioned by the accordionist Krassimir Sterev of the Ensemble Klangforum Wien. In Bellow, mental images, sound transformation, and transcontextuality are at the core of the piece. The accordion manifests itself as Leslie train horns with the characteristic chords, cow bellows, kickboxing punches, flapping wings, typing sound on a manual typewriter, and Messiaen’s Livre du Saint Sacrement organ sonorities among others.