On March 23, myself and two other Berklee students attended the Wayne Shorter Quartet concert at the Megaro Mousikis concert hall in Athens, Greece. To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I’ve been listening to Wayne Shorter for the last few years, so I am fairly familiar with his work. But after the lights dimmed and the musicians took the stage, I came to realize that maybe I didn’t know the music like I thought.
Tag: Berklee in Athens
Berklee in Athens
Part 2 of my trip through Greek history took us to ancient Delphi. Deemed the site of the “naval of the earth,” it was home to the Temple of Apollo and a sacred sanctuary where people flocked to seek the advice of the god’s oracle. The visit was part of a field trip for the student’s Greek Civilization class led by professor and archaeologist John Karavas. We drank from the Kastalia Spring at the base of the sanctuary, wondering aloud whether some sort of divine inspiration would follow.
Yeia sas (pronounced yasas and Greek for hello)!
As part of their course of study here in Athens, Berklee students take several Greek culture classes, including Greek Civilization. John Karavas, a professor and a renowned archaeologist, is their teacher. And what better way to see the Acropolis and its crowning Parthenon, erected as a temple to the goddess Athena in the fifth century B.C., than through the lens of such expertise. He took us back in time, regaling us with tales of the ancient site’s long and winding history. At its base, we saw some old school performance sites–how apropos for a group of musicians. There was the Theater of Dionysus, in its day akin to the Broadway of Ahtens–where top billed performances debuted; and the Theater of Herod Atticus, which continues to host impressive artists.