Michalis Kouloumis (CPY; violine)

Born into a musical family in Cyprus, violinist and composer Michalis Kouloumis developed a strong musical background and sensitivity from his early years. He studied European classical violin, but his personal pursuits led him to the musical traditions of the Orient and especially that of the Eastern Mediterranean. He graduated with ‘Distinction’ from the Department of Greek Traditional music of the Philippos Nakas Conservatory in Athens, being a disciple of violinist Yorgos Marinakis. During the same period, he completed his undergraduate studies at the Department of Physics, University of Athens. In 2013, he obtained his MA of Music in Violin Performance (Taksim in Ottoman Classical music) from Codarts, University for the Arts (Netherlands).                                                                                                                                                                          
He has performed on stage and recorded with some of the most important representatives of the Mediterranean music scene in venues including Royal Albert hall (UK), Union Chapel London (UK), King’s Place London (UK), Onassis Cultural Centre Athens (GR), Sommerton Festival (DE), Brighton Fringe Festival (UK), Palace of Arts Budapest (HU), Katara Festival Qatar (QA), WOMAD (UK) and many others. Currently he is a visiting teacher at Codarts, University for the Arts in Rotterdam, specialized in Violin, Makam Theory and Improvisation as developed in Ottoman classical and Greek traditional music.