Music

Anita holds a degree in Ethnomusicology from The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) as well as a degree in Western Classical Composition from King’s College London. Anita’s father, Jack Rogers, was a Lutenist, Classical Guitarist, and a Bouzouki player. Jack was part Irish and had a musical group called the “Curraghs.” Anita would sing and play traditional Irish music with him and sing Dolores Keane, Planxty, and a variety of others.

Her love of traditional Greek music began when she was seven years old. She used to perform with her father, a well-known bouzouki (Rebetika) player in Greece at the time. She sang while he played both the Bouzouki and Ud. She was raised singing traditional Greek music on the island of Halki, in Athens and later on the island of Andros, where her family owns a house.  Anita now occasionally performs with her Greek and Sephardic group “I Meraklides” in New York.

Anita began studying the harp at the age of eleven and is now a trained Harpist. She plays both the classical and Celtic harp. When time permits, she attends traditional Irish music sessions in New York City. In fact, her dissertation at SOAS focused on traditional Irish music and explored the differences between Northern & Southern Ireland.

Anita speaks three languages: British English, Greek, and Spanish. In addition to being a trained opera singer, Anita also sings Greek music from 1920s and 40s (Rebetika and Smyrnaika). She also writes and records her own songs in Spanish. Her operatic repertoire includes Carmen, Delilah, and Dido. She specialises in Lieder, especially Mahler. Song cycles include the Ruckert Lieder and Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Anita has performed in Italy in Rome, Massa, Lucca, Trieste, Athens, London, and Venice. Anita and Beth Bahia Cohen have performed Greek and Sephardic music together in NY since 2005.