Magda Giannikou

Giannikou was born on 27 January 1981, in Athens, Greece.^[1] She taught in Greek elementary schools and composed music for TV and theater productions in Athens.^[2] In Greece, she participated in over 50 children's productions and began her training in classical music and jazz.^[3] Giannikou graduated from the National Conservatory of Greece with a Certificate of Excellence. She also studied at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory in Athens.^[1]

Giannikou went on to study film scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, graduating in 2008.^[4] In 2009, Giannikou was selected to be a Fellow at the Sundance Institute Composers Lab.^[5]

In 2010, Giannikou formed Banda Magda, a New York-based band, with an international group of musicians, including some fellow Berklee alumni.^[4] Their multilingual music is influenced by Latin American styles (such as samba), French chansons and Greek folk music. Banda Magda has toured in 22 countries.^[6] Their 2013 album, Amour, t'es la?, reached #9 on Billboard's Top World Music Albums chart.^[7]

Giannikou has composed music for several films and a TV show:^[8]

• 2014: Watchers of the Sky
• 2012: Louie
• 2011: Natural Selection
• 2010: La tropa de trapo en el país donde siempre brilla el sol

In 2016 Giannikou was the recording producer for the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.^[9]

• Biography (Banda Magda official site)
• Banda Magda concert review (WGBH.com, 2017)