Vasilis "Vasileios" Kostas
Since coming to Berklee, Vasileios "Vasilis" Kostas has recorded Greek music in the Madrid studio of multi-Grammy-winning producer Javier Limón, director of Berklee's Mediterranean Music Institute. Kostas' path in music began in Ioannina, Greece, where he was born and raised. He began his musical training on the guitar at age five under the guidance of his father. At 16, and after being exposed to extensive musical education, Kostas started composing his own music and received a special award for traditional music at the prestigious Panhellenic Student Competition. A year later, he returned to the competition to claim first prize.
Kostas was admitted to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, where he completed his undergraduate degree in philosophy and education. Concurrently, he was admitted to the Philippos Nakas Conservatory to further his education in guitar, specifically in jazz harmony and improvisation, under the tutelage of Makis Stefanidis and John Papatriantafyllou. He was awarded the equivalent of summa cum laude for his studies at the conservatory.
Watch Kostas, featuring Layth Sidiq, perform "Kalesma," an original song:
Kostas attended jazz seminars in Perugia, Italy organized by Berklee and left with an Outstanding Musicianship Award. A few months later, he auditioned in Athens for a Berklee scholarship, which he secured despite immense competition. Kostas has played alongside prominent musicians such as Ernesto Hermoza, Beth Bahia Cohen, Kostis Kyritskis, Giannis Papatriantafyllou, and Sotiris Katsouras; and his professors at Berklee include Ed Saindon, Simon Shaheen, and David Fiuczynski.
He has also collaborated with the Mediterranean Institute of Music in Spain, where he played traditional songs from Greece, his birthplace, with his new instrument, a laouto, and where his audience included distinguished flamenco musicians such as Pepe Habichuela and Jose Merce.