Music composer

F:. Skenderbeis

(Andros 1879 – Athens 1940)

Musician and composer as well as orchestra director. Doctor of Natural Sciences of the University of Athens. At the same time he studied music at the Athens Conservatory and took lessons from Dion. He studied at the Athens University of Music and Performing Arts in Athens, where he also studied at the Athens University of Music and Performing Arts with Dionyson Lavragas. While still young, he organized a small orchestra and in 1896, he presented a mandolin quartet. Thus shortly afterwards he founded the Athenian Mandolinata and then a full Conservatory for the study of musicians of the genre. He gave many concerts with great success. He participated with a special presence at the 1906 Olympics. He toured abroad. He won three first prizes in international music competitions. Also as a conductor he won an orchestral conducting prize. Lavdas served as a music teacher at the Arsakeion (1913-1937) and as general inspector of music in secondary education. He was a founding member of the Union of Greek Musicians. He left a very large compositional oeuvre, we select : Greek Overture , Greek Rhapsody, Goys of Hecuba, Cretan Dance, Cretan Ball, Andriotic Ball, Serenade, Varcarola, O Aitos , Old Demos, serenades, songs for children, etc. He published methods and books of music education Methods of Guitar, Mandolin , Handbook of Music Theory. He was honoured by King George I with the Cross of Saviour.