Biography
After completing his piano and advanced theory studies at the National Conservatoire of Athens, Basil moved to London. He studied composition at the Trinity College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music and finally at the Canterbury Christ Church University where he obtained his PhD supported by the Research Studentship Award.
An Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) since 2019, Basil completed his JSPS Bridge Fellowship (2018-19) at the Tokyo University of the Arts, and he is the only composer to date to be twice the recipient of the prestigious JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (2010-11 and 2011-13). During that period, Basil was based at the Tokyo University of the Arts as a Special Foreign Researcher, where he composed new works for Western and Japanese instruments with a particular interest on the shō (mouth organ) and the 20-stringed koto.
Basil’s works are characterised by a strong visual identity; his performances has often been accompanied by dance or stage action. Early influences can be traced in Sergiu Celibidache’s views on aspects of ambience and acoustic space (Athanasiadis attended Celibidache’s Munich seminars in 1994), and in composers such as Christou, Feldman and Takemitsu. His most recent works focus on the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which has also been the main subject of his doctoral and postdoctoral research since 2004.
Represented by United Music Publishing since 2014, his music has been released on CD by Metier, Sargasso, Dutton Epoch, Regent Records, Fonorum and the Choir & Organ Magazine.
Basil’s works have been performed in Europe, US, Canada and Asia by performers and ensembles such as Evelyn Glennie, Mayumi Miyata, members of the Düsseldorf Symphonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet, New London Chamber Ensemble, Silk String Quartet, Okeanos, Mondriaan Quartet, Alea III, Shonorities and choirs such as the BBC Singers, Wells Cathedral Choir, Cambridge Chapel Choir of Selwyn College and Montreal Christ Church Cathedral Choir.