Greetings All,

It is with great pleasure that I announce that for the second consecutive year, I have been honored with an ASCAPlus award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).

‘ The purpose of these special awards, which have been given each year since 1960, is to reward writers whose works have a unique prestige value for which adequate compensation would not otherwise be received, and to compensate those writers whose works are performed substantially in media not surveyed by ASCAP.’

As an artist who has the vast majority of his performances in alternative venues, both in the US and internationally (where many countries outside of Western Europe don’t acknowledge ownership rights) , it is an honor to be recognized not only for the great number of performances of music that I receive, but also for the tremendous amount of work put into the composing and production of said performances.

Thank you all again for your continued support!

Yours truly,

Demetrius

Best Buddies NY Benefit Concert featuring Elaine Kwon and Friends

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Join Best Buddies NY at Carnegie Hall for a magnificent concert featuring Elaine Kwon, an internationally acclaimed pianist. Ms. Kwon will be joined by celebrated tenor, Enrique Pina; internationally recognized saxophonist and conductor, Demetrius Spaneas; and Jessica Sibelman and the New York Chamber Virtuosi, one of the most up and coming classical orchestras on the horizon. Actress, Catherine Eaton and playwright, Brian Dela…ney, round out the roster, adding yet another spectacular component to the evening’s performance.

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Prior to the concert, at 6:00pm, a reception will be held including food, drinks and fantastic auction opportunities. Immediately following the concert, a private dessert reception with the performers will be held for sponsors and VIP ticket holders.

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In addition to an elaborate array of Silent Auction items, BBNY will auction off the Drop of Hope Necklace, custom made for the organization by world-renowned artist, Alex Soldier.

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Tickets are available from $50-$500.

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For Tickets, call CarnegieCharge: 212-247-7800

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Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall

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881 7th Avenue

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**Proceeds from the evening benefit Best Buddies New York. Best Buddies in a non-profit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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Carnegie Hall

Greetings,

It is my pleasure to tell you that Elemental Fire from my album Sfumato with Galina Parfenova has been ranked 28th (up from 29th) by International Association of Independent Recording Artists. This is Elemental Fire’s second consecutive month on this list.

The letter reads as follows:

The International Association of Independent Recording Artists, IAIRA, recognizes and honors artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in sound recording by monitoring chart activity as published in various reporting charts from around the world. According to our research, on 09/16/2010 the above referenced release; Elemental Fire, by Demetrius Spaneas and Galina Parfenova, had attained The Number 28 Position on at least one of the charts monitored and verified by IAIRA. On the basis of that research, IAIRA has qualified the aforementioned release as eligible for Certification as an International ‘Top 40′.

On behalf of the entire IAIRA staff and the Recording Arts Community at large, please accept our most sincere Congratulations and Best Wishes for your continued success!

I have also created a youtube video of Elemental Fire :

You can also see my other videos at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/dspaneas

There will be many more to come!

Thank you,

Demetrius

Dear All,

I have just posted a new video of my Solace (for the Departing) from my album Sfumato, released 2010.

Demetrius Spaneas, alto flute and Galina Pafenova, voice. Accompanied by beautiful images of sunsets.

I hope you enjoy.

Demetrius

Greetings All,

It is my pleasure to announce that I have been invited for the second consecutive season as a Resident Artist for the NYC based Composers Collaborative, Inc. and their Serial Underground series at The Cornelia Street Cafe.

Last season, my concert on April 12 presented my program Metanoia: a monologue on life, loss, and rebirth. This program featured the premier of a  new version of my work No Longer To His Father… for solo saxophone.

This season, my December 5th concert will feature the premier of  my new work, entitled Giuffre Sketches.  The program notes follow:

“Giuffre Sketches” is dedicated to the memory of my teacher, jazz musician and composer Jimmy Giuffre, who passed in 2008. It uses motives and phrases from some of Jimmy’s lesser-known compositions as source material for both the written and improvisational elements. The work also uses two well-known pieces that are interwoven to create a structural element: the folk song “The Train and the River”, and Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Darn That Dream”. Both of these pieces have special meanings for me, most especially the Van Heusen, which was the basis for one of my first conceptual epiphanies while I was working with Jimmy.

CCi’s Artistic Director Jed Distler will be joining me for this piece playing piano.

I will post updated announcements as the concert date approaches.

Thank you and looking forward to seeing you there!

Demetrius

Greetings All,

I uploaded a Youtube video of me playing my improvised encore at the Mozartiana Festival in Gdansk, Poland on August 20, 2010. The video is a slide-show of still photos from both the sound-check and the performance.

Enjoy!
Demetrius