Marios Joannou Elia –
«The Magician of Sound».

Elia’s compositions have been performed internationally by distinguished orchestras, choirs and ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra and Choir of the Southwest German Radio (SWR), the Gewandhaus Orchestra Sinfonietta in Leipzig, the Stuttgart State Orchestra, and the German Radio Philharmonic Saarbrücken–Kaiserslautern.¹⁷⁷ In Asia, the National Chinese Orchestra, the Kyoto and Osaka Youth Symphony Orchestras and Choirs, as well as the Jinqi Ruan Ensemble and the Guzheng Orchestra of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, are among the interpreters of his works. In Greece and Cyprus, contributions have come from the Symphony Orchestra and Choir of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), the Choir of the Municipality of Athens, and the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. Specialized ensembles have also taken part in his performances, such as the Children’s Choir of the Stuttgart State Opera, the Schleswig-Holstein State Youth Choir, the Accordion Orchestra of the Netherlands, the Mandolin Orchestra of Kyoto, and the Japanese matryomin ensemble «Mable and Da». A particular place is held by Byzantine choirs, including those of the Holy Archbishopric of Cyprus, the Holy Monastery of Kykkos, the «Maïstores of the Psaltic Art», the «Psaltai of Ilissia», and the chant ensemble «Enichima».

His operas have been staged by the State Operas of Stuttgart¹⁷⁸ and Hanover. In other works, soloists from the Mariinsky Theatre, the Berlin Philharmonic and Bavarian Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, and the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest have participated. His performance repertoire also includes collaborations with the German soul and R&B singer Xavier Naidoo,¹⁷⁹ the group Söhne Mannheims, as well as with ensembles specializing in contemporary music such as Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt), Ensemble Recherche (Freiburg), Ensemble Phoenix (Basel), Ensemble KNM Berlin, Ensemble SurPlus (Freiburg),¹⁸⁰ Ensemble Ascolta and SWR Vokalensemble (Stuttgart),¹⁸¹ Austrian Ensemble for Contemporary Music (Salzburg), the Rubinstein Quartet (Łódź), the Doelen Kwartet (Rotterdam), the Danish Chamber Players (Ensemble Storstrøm), and the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble.

Elia’s works have been presented in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Berlin Philharmonie and Warsaw Philharmonic, the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden, Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ in Amsterdam, Millenáris Theatrum in Budapest, Ars Electronica and the State Theatre of Linz, the Gasteig in Munich, the main stage of the National Opera and Ballet of North Macedonia in Skopje, the Centro Nacional de la Música in Buenos Aires, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, and the Rotunda of Steinway Hall in New York. He has also composed works specifically for Salzburg Airport (Amadeus Terminal 2, «Mozart Year 2006»), the historic Mirabell Garden (Mirabell Palace), and the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, on the occasion of Olympiacos Piraeus’ 45th football championship victory.^{182 183}

Elia has represented Cyprus in a series of international cultural events,¹⁸⁴ including: the closing ceremony of the «Cultural Year of the Ten» in Berlin, marking the accession of ten new member states to the European Union (2005); the «Cultural Days» of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt (2008); the project «Art–Peace – Challenging Walls» in Berlin, with the participation of artists from cities divided by separation walls (2008); the 14th Biennale of Skopje (2009);¹⁸⁵ and the events «Louise, Destination Europe» and the exhibition «Very European People» in Brussels, within the framework of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (2012).