Biography
Vaggelis Paraskevaidis was born in Athens Greece.
He started taking piano lessons at a very young age he realising that music would always be in his life.
He devoted himself to his studies on percussion while at the same time playing drums in various punk rock groups. During that period he also discovered the vibraphone, as well as his interest in jazz improvisation.
In 2003 he received his BA in Music from Salford University (UK) as an orchestral percussionist.
He had the previlege to take part in lessons and seminars by some great musicians such as David Friedman, Robert Fripp, David Liebman, Gary Burton, Michael Gibbs, Bob Moses just to name a few.
He has collaborated in recordings and on stage with several artists from a variety of musical genres. His experiences vary from jazz groups and bands by songwriters, to performing as a performer with the orchestra Camerata and the National Theater of Greece.
As a composer, in 2012 he released the album with his group Paradoxonia (AntArt productions), a group that combined Balkan music traditions with jazz improvisation and a strong rock aesthetic.
In addition, he has composed music for theater, and has been awarded twice by the French Academy of Athens for composing music for theatre plays for children. His teaching experience is extensive, teaching theory, harmony, vibraphone / marimba and drums, in several educational institutions / conservatories and schools.