Biography
George Hadjimarkou was born in Famagusta, Cyprus in 1971 and started his musical studies at the age of six learning to play various stringed instruments including mandolin, bouzouki and, a few years later, guitar. He studied bouzouki with Nikos Voutsinos, while his formal guitar training with Yiannis Constantinou included a course in music theory of the Royal School of Music. At the age of thirteen, as a promising young artist, he traveled to Athens, Greece and won the first-prize at the "Young Talent Competition", while started his career as a soloist. After he served the army band S.M.E.F. playing the trombone, he studied harmony with Costas Kalathas while, collaborated with famous singers and performers such as: Costas Makedonas and most recently, with George Dalaras, Anna Vissi, Dimitris Mpasis, Glafkos Kontemeniotis and Jorge Caballero among others. He was featured on the National Television CYBC and the channel Logos regularly in the weekly live TV show "Ena ki Ena".
In 1995 he started his musical studies in the USA, whereas performed live at the National Hellenic Television, Sigma Television, the radio COSMOS FM and Hellas FM. As a recitalist and chamber musician, appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House, Merkin Concert Hall, Presidential Palace in Cyprus, LeFrak Concert Hall, the Church of Our Savior, the Long Island Guitar Festival, the St. Joseph International Guitar Festival, the Mottola International Guitar Festival, the American Museum of Natural History, Kastelliotissa Medieval Hall, Larnaca's Medieval Castle etc. He was a prize winner at the East Carolina University Guitar Competition, additionally nominated the Hartt Artist Diploma Talent/Honor from the University of Hartford a Certificate of Academic Excellence from the City University of New York and Honor as a distinguished faculty member from Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts. His guitar instructors included Jerry Willard, Richard Provost and Evangelos Assimakopoulos; furthermore, studied composition under the tutelage of Perry Goldstein and Shafer Mahoney. He performed and attended master class seminars by John Williams, Roland Dyens, Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Benjamin Verdery, Pepe Romero, L.A Guitar Quartet, Evangelos & Liza etc. He joined "Mikrokosmos" and "OKTO" music ensembles, worked with American Ballet Theatre, Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, Cyprus Police Philharmonic, Larnaca's Municipal Wind Orchestra, Metropolitan Greek Chorale, Cypreco, Larnaca's Progressive Municipal Choir, Chamber Choir "Polyfonia" etc.
Mr. Hadjimarkou holds a B.A degree from Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens College CUNY, a M.M degree from SUNY at Stony Brook, and a G.P.D from the University of Hartford. He taught guitar at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts and the State University of New York. His composition "Prelude to Lucy", won first-prize at the Guitar Composition Competition of EGTA Cyprus. As a tenor and choir member, he participated in works such as, "Rigoletto", "Oresteia - Aeschylus Suite" by Iannis Xenakis and Symphony no.9 by L.V.Beethoven. He is a member of Centre of Cypriot Composers and currently teaching at the Ministry of Education and Culture.