Sound Installation | The Predatory Chord | Βen Frost
Premiere Presentation
Sunday 28 May | 19:00-00:00 | Alexandra Trianti Hall
Closing concert | Marcus Gilmore | Dina Elwedidi | Aurelio Martínez
Guest Artist | Gilberto Gil
Sunday 28 May | 21:00 | Megaron Garden
Presented by Rolex in partnership with Megaron the Athens Concert Hall
Ticket sales now open
For the first time, Megaron welcomes the Rolex Arts Festival, which will take place from 26 to 28 May in Athens, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Rolex Mentoring Programme.
Megaron the Athens Concert Hall will host the two major closing events on the last day of the Festival (28/5): the sound installation The Predatory Chord by Ben Frost, premiering in the Alexandra Trianti Hall, and the closing concert with world music in the Garden, featuring Marcus Gilmore from the USA, Dina Elwedidi from Egypt and Aurelio Martínez from Honduras. Guest artist, the great Brazilian singer and songwriter Gilberto Gil. The finale of the concert is expected to be impressive, with a very special jamming session in which all the bands of the evening will participate!
Sunday 28 May| 19:00–00:00 | Alexandra Trianti Hall
SOUND INSTALLATION | Premiere presentation
The Predatory Chord | Ben Frost
Free Admission
On Sunday 28 May, the audience will have the opportunity to experience the work of Ben Frost (Rolex Music Fellow), a unique performer and composer with an international career, who, among other projects, has written music for well-known TV series. The acclaimed Australian artist comes to Athens with his new site specific sound installation The Predatory Chord, created especially for Megaron and premiering in Greece.
In this work, Frost proposes that visitors step onto the stage and move freely through the space, with no restrictions on entry or exit. He invites them to immerse themselves in a dreamlike acoustic environment, in a soundscape that is constantly reshaped by forty speakers suspended from different heights on the ceiling of the hall. The changing sound field is combined with images and lighting effects that are organically related and form an integral part. The lighting design is by George Tellos.
Sunday 28 May | 21:00-22:30 | Megaron Garden
Closing Concert
The Rolex Arts Festival concludes with a grand musical celebration in the Megaron Garden on Sunday 28 May at 9:00 pm, featuring Marcus Gilmore from the USA, Dina Elwedidi from Egypt and Aurelio Martínez from Honduras, all young artists from the Rolex Artistic Mentoring Programme. They are joined by special guest, the legendary Brazilian singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil (vocals, guitar).
Marcus Gilmore (drums, percussion, percussions, centerpieces) is accompanied by musicians Brittany Laurelle (vocals), David Virelles (piano, synthesizer) and Petros Klampanis (double bass).
Dina Elwedidi’s band (voice, acoustic guitar, Egyptian duoff) consists of Reda Moustafa (saxophone), Thabet Sherif (electric guitar), André Segone (bass) and Abdelazim Barhouma (percussion).
Aurelio Martínez (guitar, congas) will share the Garden stage with Ivan Enrique Mendez Valladares (electric guitar), Marcos René Torres (traditional drum guitar) and Emilio Moisés Álvarez Quioto (bass).
About the Artists
Marcus Gilmore
Jazz pianist and composer Vijay Iyer has described New Yorker Marcus Gilmore as an “unexpectedly innovative drummer”. Gilmore has worked with leading musicians, has been featured on 24 albums, has been honored with numerous awards and is the recipient of major scholarships. Along with his grandfather, the legendary Roy Haynes, he improvised on drums for the soundtrack to Pixar’s 2020 film Soul. In 2020, he performed his first orchestral composition in collaboration with members of the Cape Town Philharmonic through the Rolex Artistic Mentorship Program. Two years later, the Marcus Gilmore Trio made its debut at New York’s renowned jazz club Village Vanguard. Marcus Gilmore was a 2018-2019 Artistic Mentorship Program protégé, mentored by Zakir Hussain.
Dina Elwedidi
In 2008, the Egyptian singer and composer Dina Elwedidi joined the Elwarsha Theater Troupe, an important experience in her career that helped her to acquire an extremely wide repertoire of traditional songs. She went on to form her own band, which combines world music with the musical traditions of her home country. Her first album titled Turning Back was released in 2014. Four years later, Elwedidi recorded her second CD titled Slumber, and in 2012 she represented Egypt in the music and environmental initiative “The Nile Project”. The young musician has performed all over the world and has performed with Gilberto Gil at the London Back2Black Festival (2012) and the Cairo Jazz Festival (2013), among others. She was a protégé of the Rolex Artistic Mentorship Program in 2012-2013, mentored by Gilberto Gil.
Aurelio Martínez
Singer and songwriter Aurelio Martínez is originally from Honduras. He also plays guitar and percussion. Through his work, he highlights the traditional culture of the Garifuna tribe, which combines elements of African, Caribbean and Indian cultures. He made his first public appearance as a drummer at the age of six and in his teenage years formed the band Lita Ariran. In 2004, the Afropop Worldwide radio program awarded him the title of “Newly Emerging Artist of the Year” for his first solo album Garifuna Soul. In 2011, he collaborated with Youssou N’Dour for his award-winning recording Laru Beya. In 2004, the CD Lándini won the title of “Album of the Year” by Roots magazine. Martínez’s latest album is titled Darandi (2017) and features his favourite songs from the beginning of his career. He was a protégé of the Rolex Artistic Mentorship Program from 2008-2009, mentored by Youssou N’Dour.
Tickets for closing concert 15 € (General admission)
About the Rolex Arts Festival
“Rolex Arts Festival: Celebrating 20 Years of Mentoring” is a three-day celebration taking place May 26-28, 2023 in multiple venues across Athens to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Spanning dance, theatre, music, film, architecture, visual arts and literature, the Rolex mentoring programme gives emerging artists the rare opportunity to work alongside senior artists in their fields for an extended period of creative collaboration.
For the first time, Rolex will bring this programme and dozens of the world’s most talented artists to Athens in a celebration of the legacy of 20 years of mentoring.
Multidisciplinary performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, installations and discussions will show the achievements and creative relationships of more than 60 Rolex protégés and mentors.
Rolex Perpetual Arts Initiative
For more than half a century, Rolex has partnered some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to celebrate excellence and contribute to perpetuating artistic heritage, creating a link between the past, present and future. Through the Rolex Perpetual Arts Initiative, a broad portfolio of arts that extends through music, architecture, cinema and the Rolex mentoring programme the brand confirms its long-term commitment to global culture. In all these endeavours, Rolex supports artistic excellence and the transmission of knowledge to future generations, making a lasting contribution to culture worldwide.