JULY FESTIVALS TO FEATURE HELLENIC ORCHESTRA

New England's renowned Hellenic and Near Eastern Musical Society Orchestra will headline two area festivals: the 7th Annual Greek Heritage Festival in Saco, Maine, and the St. Nicholas Greek Festival in Portsmouth, NH.

St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Saco, ME will hold its 7th Annual Greek Heritage Festival on July 12th through 14th (Fri., July 12th, 11 am -- 10 pm; Sat., July 13th, 11 am - 10 pm; Sunday, July 14th, 11 am to 4 pm.) Admission and parking are free. Greek food & pastry, tours of the community's new Byzantine Style Church, Greek Music & Dancing featuring the Hellenic and Near Eastern Musical Society Orchestra. For more info. call 207/284-5651. Festival will be held rain or shine under the big tents.

Portsmouth's St. Nicholas Church will hold its Greek Festival on Friday, July 19th (5-11 pm), Saturday, July 20 (12 -11 pm), and Sunday, July 21 (12 pm - 8 pm). Friday night, the Orfeas Band will be featured from 6-11 pm. On Saturday and Sunday, come enjoy music and dancing with the Hellenic and Near Eastern Musical Society Orchestra (Sat. 7-11 pm, Sunday 12-6 pm). Festival will be held behind St. Nicholas Church, located at 40 Andrew Jarvis Dr., next to Portsmouth High School For more info., call 603/436-2733 or visit www.stnickport.org.

Special CD Offer

The songs you love, including classics by Hadjidakis and Theodorakis, folk music from the mountains and islands, rebetiko, and the newer hits of performers such as Dalaras and Haris Alexiou. All performed in masterful arrangements featuring celebrated interpreters of Hellenic music. CDs are $15 each. To order your CD by e-mail, write to helleniccomserve@aol.com. Please include your name, address, and a phone number so your order can be confirmed. CDs may also be ordered by writing to the following address: Hellenic and Near Eastern Musical Society Orchestra, PO Box 710, Rye Beach NH 03871

About the Orchestra

The mission of the Hellenic and Near Eastern Musical Society is to promote and enhance awareness of Greek and Near Eastern music in America and beyond. The Society believes that its music represents a key component of Hellenic and Near Eastern culture, transcending all boundaries of age, politics, religion, ethnic origin and socioeconomic strata. Unique in its many artistic forms, the music serves as a universal language, appreciated and understood by all. To quote the noted Greek poet Kostis Palamas, "The ancient Greeks imbued music with meaning. For them, poetry was music, philosophy was the highest form of music; everything that systematically and harmoniously shapes life was music; every refinement of the soul was music."

One of the Society's principal undertakings has been to support the music performances of its orchestra, the Hellenic and Near Eastern Musical Society Orchestra, a 25-piece orchestra. With nearly all instruments played acoustically, this orchestra presents a unique and sophisticated sound for concerts and other special events. The group offers a concert program featuring a repertoire of pieces by such noted Greek composers and performers as Hatzidakis, Theodorokis, Markopoulos, Moschos, Tsitsanis, Dalaras, Alexiou, and Glykeria.

Both the Society and orchestra were created in 2000 by Frederick Elias, Christos Papoutsy, and Mary Papoutsy with a grant from the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Charitable Foundation.