Kokoras is an internationally award-winning composer, and currently Regents Professor of composition and CEMI director (Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia) at the University of North Texas. Born in Greece, he underwent formal training in classical guitar and composition in Athens (Dip), Greece, and later in York, England (MA, PhD). He taught for many years at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki.
Kokoras's works have received significant recognition, with commissions and fellowships from renowned institutions and festivals including the Guggenheim Foundation (USA), Fromm Music Foundation (Harvard), IRCAM (France), MATA (New York), Gaudeamus (Netherlands), ZKM (Germany), and IMEB (France), Siemens Musikstiftung (Germany) among others. His compositions have been performed over 1200 times worldwide and received 98 awards and distinctions in international competitions. Also, His compositions have consistently been chosen by juries from over 350 international calls for music.
Kokoras's sound compositions use sound as the only structural unit. His concept of "holophonic musical texture" describes his goal that each independent sound (phonos), contributes equally into the synthesis of the total (holos). In both instrumental and electroacoustic writing, his music calls upon a "virtuosity of sound," a hyper-idiomatic writing which emphasizes on the precise production of variable sound possibilities and the correct distinction between one timbre and another to convey the musical ideas and structure of the piece. His compositional oeuvre draws inspiration from his in-depth exploration of domains such as Sound Composition, Spatial Sound, Mixed Music, Electroacoustic Music, Holophonic Musical Texture, Extended Techniques, Fab Synthesis, Music Information Retrieval compositional strategies, Tactile Sound, Instrumental Prosthetics, Robotics, Sound and Consciousness.
He stands as a founding member of the Hellenic Electroacoustic Music Composers Association (HELMCA) and held positions including board member and president from 2004 to 2012. Presently, he currently serves as the President of the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music (ICEM). He also served as conference chair for the ICMC 2015 and SMC 2018 and regularly serves as jury member in composition competitions and conferences.
