REDEFINING CLASSICS

Bettina Joy de Guzman is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, and Classicist who composes music inspired by research of ancient cultures, especially Ancient Greek music and poetry. She has been invited to lecture, sing authentic ancient poetry, and play historical instruments in various universities and museums, internationally. As Regent’s Fellow in University of California in Irvine, she taught Ancient Greek and Roman history as well as mythology. A book she edited, Ancient Greek Lyre: Learning Method, by Nikos Xanthoulis (Artistic Consultant of National Greek Opera), was shortlisted for Good Life category of Greek Public Book Awards in June 2019. As President of California Classical Association South, she organizes panels twice a year. She is co-creator and host of Cosmote TV, History Channel, “Ancient Greek Culture, Now!” which aired January 2021-January 2023 in Greece. She was both a2021-2022 Associate and Grant recipient, and Visiting Artist, for The Center for Hellenic Studies at Harvard University. Her music recordings and video performances have been shown in Classics courses as part of lecture enrichment and supplementary material. Her background includes performance and study of Polynesian, Mideastern, and Bharatanatyam dances. She has Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology, English, Music, and Classics. She has 60 musical instruments at home that she plays, some more than others, including a 1920s petite grand pedal harp and a rare upright grand piano. To see her performances visit her YouTube page .

On May 11th she will be speaking on “Composing and Performing
Ancient Music, Internationally Today.“