ELEKTRA KURTIS & ENSEMBLE ELEKTRA
Venues Played ~ past & present
Elektra Kurtis ~ orchestra member / ensemble member
The Apollo Theater, USA
Grand Opera Orchestra, Warsaw Poland
Irving Plaza w/ Aetos quartet for Erykah Badu and Nona Hendryx
Carnegie Hall w/ New England Symphonic Ensemble
Greenwich Symphony Hall w/ Greenwich Symphony Orchestra
Cathedral of Saint John the Devine w/ Paul Winter
The Helsinki Philharmonic Hall
The Helsinki Radio and Television Program
At The Stamford Opera w/ Connecticut Grand Opera Orchestra
Avery Fisher Hall w/ Cachao
The Brooklyn Academy of Music w/ Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra
The Brooklyn Academy of Music w/ Henry Threadgill {Jazz Festival}
Thiasos w/ Greek leader Vangelis Fambas
Miller Theater w/ Henry Threadgill
Bowery Poetry Club w/ Butch Morris
Knitting Factory w/ John Zorn
Alice Tully / special events
Warsaw Traffic Club w/ Drum Freaks and Milo Kurtis
Elektra Kurtis & Ensemble Elektra
The Tornio Jazz Festival
Old Student House in Helsinki, Finland
The Tampere Jazz Festival
Knitting Factory
Cornelia Street Café
CB’s Gallery at CBGB
Bowery Poetry Club
Satalla
The Harlem School of the Arts
For bookings please contact:
Elektra Kurtis – Stewart
Tel: 212.865.3542
Email: letaki@gowebway.com
Website: www.elektrakurtis.com
ELEKTRA KURTIS BIOGRAPHY
Violinist and composer of Greek origin, Elektra
Kurtis-Stewart was raised in Poland. She graduated
from the Warsaw Conservatory, and Finnish Sibelius
Academy of Music in Helsinki.
She has performed throughout the US, Europe and
Finland in numerous chamber ensembles, symphony
orchestras, ethno-music ensembles (Greek and Gypsy
music), including her own group, Ensemble Elektra, a
world jazz improvisational ensemble. Some of the
ensembles that Elektra has performed with include
Warsaw Grand Opera Orchestra, "Yia Sou" (an
improvisational World Music Ensemble),
Connecticut Opera, Bronx and Brooklyn Philharmonic,
New England Symphonic Ensemble.
Elektra performed in concerts, theatrical and
television productions, radio broadcasts and
recorded the music of notable Finnish composers such
as Edward Vesala and Toni Edelman.
She has worked with such stellar artists as
Lester Bowie, Gerry Mulligan, Paquito d'Rivera,
Lionel Hampton ,Shirley Horn, Ray Barreto, Max
Roach, and the notable arabic music master
Simon Shaheen. She toured with the legendary
Cuban artist Israel "Cachao" Lopez, and
performed the music of contemporary composers such
as Anthony Davis, John Zorn, Akua Dixon and
Carman Moore in venues such as the Knitting
Factory, the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall,
Lincoln Center, Apollo Theatre. She has also been a
member of a Greek traditional music group under the
leadership of guitarist Vangelis Fampas, and
appeared in the New York tri-state area with the
New England Symphonic Ensemble, Hudson Valley,
Greenwich, Longar Ensemble and Harlem Festival
symphony orchestras. Elektra played in
trombonist Craig Harris' jazz, hip-hop, rap,
poetry and song project in Paris and participated in
a performance in 1997 with Nona Hendrix and
Erica Badu, among others. In 2002 /03 she
appeared in concerts with Henry Threadgill’s
Aggregation Orb and Butch Morris’
Skyscraper.
Most recently Elektra performed as guest artist with
a world music group Drum Freaks in Warsaw,
Poland.
Recordings include Steve Coleman's double CD
Genesis &The Opening of the Way (BMG), and
her own recording, Ensemble Elektra The
Book of Time (Milo Records, 2000) and
AFROdite’s Smile (MR, 2005)