My New Music Videos

 I am pleased to share that I have set several of my poems to music I composed years ago, turning them into songs. 

Let me give you the historical context. I started composing music when I was sixteen, aided by the fact that my family had received a piano from my older sister after she moved into a house that had one, and they did not have a use for it. That is when I began learning to play it. I literally taught myself to play the notes. Every day after school, I would sit at the piano and learn the notes. Then I started composing my own music. During that time, I was also writing poetry, but did not compose songs. 

Later, in college, when I minored in music, I took a composition class and some piano lessons. I still have my composition notebook with the music I wrote for my class. I also played viola in orchestras throughout my adult life, as well as chamber ensemble groups, taught music, and later, switched to violin playing.

When I was older, I wanted to store my music, and I did so using Noteflight (about a decade ago), as well as on my Yamaha synthesizer. Then I had uploaded a few of them on Youtube.  Noteflight gave me the opportunity to write my music, print it out, and download it.

More recently, actually almost a week ago, with the help of Suno, an AI platform, I was able to upload my audios and lyrics and produce the music. Suno gave me options to choose from. It has really pushed my creativity to a level I have not experienced before. It is quite inspiring.

The result is that I have produced high-quality videos that have taken my music and lyrics to another level. I hope that my songs have found a home. I hope people will enjoy them as much as I do!

Lately, I have been digging up more of my old songs and producing more. When those are done, I plan to compose even more. I have more than 60 poems that could easily be added to new music.

---------------------------------

Here are some of my "new" converted songs, produced with assistance from Suno on YouTube. They are also available on my own Youtube channel, on Amazon and Apple, as well as on Instagram and other sites. I used Distrokid to distribute them.

1) Wishing You Were Here on Christmas Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VHCqPbwzA4

This was a song I wrote after my husband passed away. It was my first Christmas without him.

The original 2013 video is on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAP6W-rqTm8&list=RDIAP6W-rqTm8&start_radio=1

2) The Life of a Rose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vvecu5hQ04

   ---This was a song I composed and played on the piano, and joined the poem to it. Its older version is on my Youtube channel.

3) Flowing River: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK3XXeJddkE

   ----This is another poem I wrote after my husband passed.

4) The Silence of a Beating Heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjdbEfwsAnk

   ---This is a new composition, where I took an older poem that I had written after watching war footage. It is a stark reminder of what war means to the soldiers and to their families. It has a devastating price to humanity.

5) Peace: I Searched Deep Within: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3ab0iiZT7A

 --- I tend to write inspirational poems and add them to soft, relaxing, and soothing music. This one is about our relationship with God inside of us.

I'd be happy to hear from you if you do go and listen to them. Feel free to share them with others if they resonate with you. 

Have a blessed day! - Patty Apostolides

DC watercolor painting

Classes have ended for now. So I've resumed painting in watercolor. This piece has been languishing the past few months because I was too busy to tackle it. Today, I believe I finished it (they are really never finished, but at some point, you have to let go). This is painted on an Arches 300 lb. paper.

 

Another poem online - DylanDay 2022

 I had written a poem for Dylan Day in 2022. It is called "Touched by a Mermaid."

and can be found here: https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/22011974/3128325086360510154

I have also copied it here - 

Touched by a Mermaid

 

The glimmering Aegean Sea,

kissed by the silent sun,

sheds millions of shimmering stars

and delights my eyes.

 

Warm sandy beach greets my feet.

I stride in the cool water,

take a deep breath and dive

into the cool chamber of antiquity.

 

The sea gathers me in its fold,

caressing me like a lover.

 

I swim for a while, then

float among the stars 

that coat the calm blue sea.

 

The sun lulls me to sleep.

 

I dream about Alexander the Great and

Thessaloniki, his half-sister, the mermaid.

 

A howling wind erupts my cocoon.

Thessaloniki’s hands grip my feet

pulling me down, and

I sink quickly.

 

Struggling to be free from her grip,

I cry out Alexander lives! He lives! 

 

She lets go and swims away as

the tip of her tail flashes

among the frothy waves.

 

I awaken to the soothing sounds of the waves 

that lap the shore.

 

It must have been a dream.

 

I float along the calm water,

among the sea’s glimmering stars,

kissed by the sun that sees everything

and says nothing.

 

 

Ipatia K. Apostolides, Greece/USA

April 2022 - for DylanDay2022

 

Two of my poems published in Pen In Hand Literary Journal January 2026

I am pleased to announce that two of my recent poems, "A Million Lives, A Million Deaths" and "Narcissus" were published in the literary journal Pen In Hand in their January 2026 publication. This journal from the Maryland Writer's Association includes poems, short stories, memoirs, and essays. The editor is Roderick Deacey. 

Here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Pen-Hand-Literary-Maryland-Association/dp/B0GHQZX6HM

My Poetry Published Before the Year 2000

 Although I had been writing poems since I was twelve, I began submitting my poems to journals, and was publishing poetry from 1988 on. It was before the Internet took off. Recently, I discovered a list of poems that had been published during that time, and had forgotten about them. However, when I searched for those journals online, several of them had gone out of business or were not found online.

My poetry published before or by 2000 in journals:

1. "My Iota." American Poetry Anthology,  The American Poetry Association, vol. VII, no. 5, 1988, pg. 162.

2. "Swordplay." Feelings, Fall 1994, pg. 31.

3. "Dancing Glasses." Parnassus Literary Journal, May 1994.

4. "Your Essence." Dream International Quarterly, Winter 1996-1997, pg. 48.

5. "Tyche's Fortune." The Promise of Dawn. The National Library of Poetry, 1998. pg. 60.

6. "Out of Reach." Poeticvoices.com, February 2000. 

Musical Background

 I realize that I may not have fully acknowledged a significant aspect of my life: music. I began playing the viola in third grade and participated in school orchestras throughout my early years. My passion for music led me to minor in it during my time at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio. There, I also studied viola at the Cleveland Institute of Music and participated in various musical ensembles.

During my twenties in the Cleveland area, I had the privilege of playing viola with the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra, conducted by Hyman Chandler, who also served as my teacher. Subsequently, I performed with the Cleveland Philharmonic for several years. While working at the Cleveland Clinic, I formed a chamber ensemble that played at various events.

In 1998, after my move to Cincinnati, I played with the Fairfield-Hamilton Symphony and taught viola and violin. Later, when I relocated to the Washington, D.C. area, I continued to play viola with the Friday Morning Music Club and other ensembles.

In 2008, I experienced a fall down a flight of stairs that resulted in a neck injury, which sadly forced me to stop playing the viola. Four years later, I attempted to play the violin— a smaller, more manageable instrument— and have enjoyed playing it since 2012.

I have taken private lessons from Deb Stotelmyer at Hagerstown Community College and attended their string ensemble. I spent a couple of years at the Cumberland Valley School of Music at Wilson College, PA. In 2014, I joined the Frederick Symphony Orchestra, Frederick, MD, as second violin under the direction of Elise Koehler, and later, Glenn Quadar. I played with the FSO for approximately six years. During that time, my colleagues and I formed a string quartet named "Eklektika," and we participated in their outreach program at local libraries, performing violin during storytelling sessions for children and various groups. I left FSO in 2020. I am pleased to share that as of 2026, I have rejoined the Frederick Symphony Orchestra.

Here are some of the events that FSO's Eklektika performed:

Children's Story Time Music at the Library:

Middletown Public Library:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0HTL-kv8A0

Halloween:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpFG0sCV_04

Holiday Christmas music:

Part I - FCC ILR event

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeE20cpfY6E&list=RDaeE20cpfY6E&start_radio=1

Part II - FCC ILR event

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRwLb4GXC48&list=RDLRwLb4GXC48&start_radio=1

GREEK EVENTS:

I have also played Greek music at a March 25th function by H.S. Prometheas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoAMzESn1ts&list=RDSoAMzESn1ts&start_radio=1

Visit my Youtube channel for more of my playing:

Agni Parthene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpEtXUt4I1w

Holy Friday Lamentations (Eggomia) Stasis 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-UG8u_2xHw

Holy Friday Lamentations (Eggomie) Stasis 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiobOYVKPT4

Holy Friday Lamentations (Eggomia) Stasis 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF_vI1SBU-4

Finally, I have created my own music (either by playing it on the piano or using Noteflight to publish it) and set several of the music to my poems. Visit my Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJLi0C27uK4&list=PLd-nrCmM2lxAihOkfnxR2tmA1k9lfbI1S

I hope you enjoy listening to them!

Until next time,

Patty

Two of My Poems listed in the July 2025 Issue of Pen in Hand

 Two of my poems are published in the July 2025 issue of Pen In Hand Literary Journal. The publication from the Maryland Writers Association is available on Amazon.com.

Listed as one of 10 Greek-American Poets

 National Poetry Month happens to be celebrated in April, and this year, I was listed as one of ten Greek-American poets by Maria Karamitsos on her website. She highlights my poetry book Candlelit Journey: Poetry from the Heart. Maria is a journalist and the founder/publisher/editor of  WindyCity Greek Magazine. She currently writes for Neo Magazine.

Here is the link to the listing: 

https://www.mariakaramitsos.com/2025/04/national-poetry-month-10-greek-american-poets/