Programme Note

Άκρη (Ákri), the first of Prastiti’s orchestral works, is a musical exploration of the space between two worlds. The word άκρη—Greek for “edge”—holds deep personal significance. Growing up with a New Zealand mother and a Greek father, Prastiti reflects on the process of forming an identity between two vastly different family cultures. The word encapsulates the feeling of standing on the edge of belonging to each, yet never entirely or wholly to either. It wasn’t until living in Greece that Briar experienced her very being as a vessel through which “Greekness” and “New Zealandness” could emerge with greater clarity—two vivid expressions of an imagined self. Experiencing herself both acting and being treated differently within each culture ignited a process of self-discovery and questioning, creating dramatic contrasts in her inner landscape—from belonging and wholeness to rejection and existential confusion.

Ákri expresses these themes through shifting harmonies beneath a single melodic motif. As a vocalist of Greek music, Prastiti began the composition through vocal improvisation and recording her own voice—a gesture that became woven into the work’s symbolism. The resulting motif, drawn directly from her vocal lines, embodies the voice as both a literal and metaphorical expression of self. Threading throughout the piece, it continually tries to “fit in” to a harmonic world that is ever changing and modulating. The motif, reminiscent of Greek traditional melisma, at times finds consonance with its surrounding musical environment, only to fall away into silence—as if dropping off the edge of a cliff. Over time, this repetition reveals that the motif itself is the bridge between worlds: that wholeness and worthiness can exist in the space between dualities.

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Άκρη was first premiered in Wellington, New Zealand, and written as part of Orchestra Wellington’s Mentorship Program, under the guidance of Greek-New Zealand composer John Psathas.

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For commission enquires contact Briar at briarprastiti@gmail.com