Greek youth choir to take to stage for solidarity with Türkiye, Syria after major quakes

By Handan Kazanci

ISTANBUL (AA) – A Greek youth choir named after a well-known Greek composer and political activist is set to take to the stage on Tuesday in solidarity with the people affected by last week's massive earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, the event organizers announced.

With two songs by Mikis Theodorakis, the children's youth choir of the Mikis Theodorakis Museum of Zatouna, led by conductor Stefanos Kardiolakas, will send “a message of love and solidarity to the children” in Türkiye and Syria affected by the earthquakes, according to a statement Sunday from the Mikis Theodorakis Museum.

The event will take place on Tuesday at Mikis Theodorakis’ house museum near the Acropolis in the capital Athens.

Theodorakis, a renowned composer and political activist who passed away in 2021, remains popular in Türkiye, as he strived for enduring friendship between the Turkish and Greek nations.

When a cataclysmic earthquake, claiming more than 18,000 lives, hit northwestern Türkiye in 1999, one of the first rescue teams to come to the country was from Greece, despite the countries’ traditional rivalry.

The same year, a solidarity concert was held in Istanbul with the participation of Theodorakis, his orchestra, Greek singer Maria Maria Faradouri, and Turkish composer and writer Zulfu Livaneli.

Greece was also one of the first countries to assist Türkiye in the wake of last week's earthquake, and took part in dramatic rescues of people trapped under rubble.

Theodorakis was best known for his original soundtrack to award-winning 1964 film Zorba the Greek. He won the BAFTA Prize for original music for the film Z in 1969, Phaedra in 1962, and Serpico in 1973.

Theodorakis was also instrumental in raising global awareness of Greece’s military dictatorship of 1967-74, for which he was imprisoned and his works banned.