Biography
Panayiotis Kokoras is an internationally award-winning composer and computer music innovator, currently serving as Regents Professor of Composition and Director of the Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI) at the University of North Texas. Born in Greece, Kokoras studied composition with I. Ioannidi, K. Varotsi, and A. Kergomard, and classical guitar with E. Asimakopoulo in Athens. In 1999, he moved to England to pursue postgraduate studies at the University of York, completing his MA and PhD in composition under T. Myatt, supported by funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), an Aleksandra Trianti Music Scholarship (Society of Friends of Music), the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the Greek Ministry of Culture, and others. As an educator, Kokoras has taught at the Technological and Educational Institute of Crete, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and Metropolitan College, among other institutions.
Kokoras’s music is centered on sound as the sole element of form. In his compositions develop functional classification and matching sound systems written on what he calls Holophonic Musical Texture. His concept of “holophony” describes his approach wherein each independent sound (phonos) contributes equally to the synthesis of the total (holos). His music transcends traditional notions of melody, harmony, and instrumental sound, emphasizing a “virtuosity of sound” that highlights timbral precision and diversity. His creative output integrates innovations in Music Information Retrieval (MIR) compositional strategies, extended techniques, tactile sound, sound synthesis, robotics, spatial sound, and synesthesia.
Kokoras’s catalog includes 65 works spanning solo, ensemble, and orchestral pieces, as well as mixed media, improvisation, and tape compositions. His works have been commissioned by prominent institutions and festivals, including the Fromm Music Foundation (Harvard), IRCAM (France), MATA (New York), Gaudeamus (Netherlands), ZKM (Germany), and IMEB (France). His compositions have been performed in over 1,000 concerts worldwide, selected by juries in more than 350 international calls for scores, and have earned 97 prizes in prestigious competitions. These honors include the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (2022, USA), Métamorphoses (2024, 2014, 2010, 2000, Belgium), MA/IN Awards (2020, 2019, 2016, Italy), Giga-Hertz Music Awards (2019, 2009, Germany), Destellos Prize (2018, 2014, 2011, Argentina), Prix Ars Electronica (2011, Austria), Gaudeamus 2004 and 2003 (Holland), Bourges Awards (2009, 2008, 2004, France), and the Takemitsu Composition Award (2002, Japan).
A founding member of the Hellenic Electroacoustic Music Composers Association (HELMCA), Kokoras served as board member and president from 2004 to 2012. He is currently president of the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music (CIME/ICEM), where he oversees the CIME PRIX International Electroacoustic Music Competition. He has held key organizational roles, including serving as Conference Chair for the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) 2015 in Denton, Texas, and Music Chair at the Sound and Music Computing Conference (SMC) 2018 in Limassol, Cyprus.
Kokoras’s music is featured on 57 album compilations released by labels such as Sub Rosa Records, Miso Records, SAN/CEC, and Independent Opposition Records, as well as in prominent collections by ICMC, LOSS, Musica Nova, and the Computer Music Journal (MIT Press).