Contemporary Music Concert Cycle

Alternative Stage Founding Donor

Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

Following a year of artistic fermentation, inspiration, and experimentation, the Greek National Opera’s Composition Workshop Cycle is concluding with three special concert programmes at the GNO Alternative Stage at the SNFCC, on 10, 11, and 12 October 2025, with free admission. This final concert cycle will feature a total of 24 pieces created by both emerging and established artists, 15 of which were commissioned from active members of the Composition Workshop Cycle.  The series of workshops was curated by Tassos Rossopoulos, with Ioannis Angelakis serving as collaborator. The pieces will be performed by the Ergon Ensemble under the baton of Nicolas Vassiliou. These concerts feature a unique collection of contemporary pieces aimed at showcasing the rising generation of composers.

In these three concerts, the new pieces engage in dialogue with compositions created by the mentors and rapporteurs/established artists who supported and guided the composition process with their knowledge and personal styles. Throughout the duration of the Cycle, the contribution of the Ergon Ensemble was of decisive importance, as they allowed the pieces to be tested and developed in real-time through constant collaboration with the composers.

The Composition Workshop Cycle is a new educational and creative initiative of the GNO aimed at supporting the younger generation of composers and enhancing contemporary artistic creation. For a whole year, from September 2024 to September 2025, participants attended monthly two-day meetings that included presentations by composers and musicians, along with composition lessons. The programme was led by three mentors – Ioannis Angelakis, Nicolas Tzortzis, and Dimitra Trypani – and was further enriched by contributions from Kharálampos Goyós, Giorgos Koumendakis, Periklis Liakakis, Minas Borboudakis, and Joseph Papadatos.

The Contemporary Music Concert Cycle features the following individual concerts: 

Breathing Images
Friday 10 October 2025
Starts at: 20.30
Greek National Opera Alternative Stage - SNFCC
Pieces by Margarita Ermidou, Pavlos Katsivelis, Maro Konstantinopoulou, Iason Maroulis, Ismini Beck, Joseph Papadatos, Errikos Sidiropoulos-Velidis, Dimitris Terzakis  
The first concert of the Contemporary Music Concert Cycle invites us on a journey through sound, with each piece capturing images from nature, the mental world, and the imagination. The compositions are inspired by literary and mythological landscapes, transforming images from nature, everyday life, and our inner world into original sound narratives. Sounds connect in unexpected ways, shaping visual and psychological environments, where subtle shifts and fluidity create tension and intrigue. The concert invites audiences to explore dreamlike, poetic, and atmospheric worlds, where sounds gain life, memory, and significance beyond traditional musical forms, offering us a unique listening and meditative experience.

Singing Memories
Saturday 11 October 2025
Starts at: 20.30
Greek National Opera Alternative Stage - SNFCC
Pieces by Ioannis Angelakis, Giorgos Vavoulas, Kharálampos Goyós, Margarita Ermidou, Giorgos Koumendakis, Dimitra Trypani, Andreas Tsiartas  
The second concert brings us face-to-face with pieces that converse with memories from the past: voices, songs, texts, traditions. The compositions build bridges or create rifts, illuminating the past as a vibrant organism that sings and resonates in the present – not as a fossil, but as a promise. Some of the works deconstruct the traditional flow of history into fragments and alternating rhythms, while others weave together poetic texts, traditional songs, and modern sound approaches, creating a rich soundscape. The concert invites audiences to reflect on the unrestrained power of imagination to redefine the past and transform experiences into new aesthetic experiences in unexpected ways.

Sounding Forms
Sunday 12 October 2025
Starts at: 19.30
Greek National Opera Alternative Stage – SNFCC
Pieces by Giorgos Vavoulas, Maro Konstantinopoulou, Periklis Liakakis, Iason Maroulis, Ismini Beck, Minas Borboudakis, Errikos Sidiropoulos-Velidis, Nicolas Tzortzis   
The third concert draws our attention to the formalistic and morphoplastic features of sound. Each composer shapes their materials – timbre, rhythm, structures, or language –  and transforms them into mechanisms that produce new materials. The compositions focus on details, changes in internal structures, and the relationship between instruments, voices, and sound, creating forms that come to life, breathe, and vibrate as single entities.  Some of them explore rules and procedures that are transferred from one instrument to another, while others draw inspiration from science or natural phenomena, transforming these into original sound experiences. The concert invites us to listen to the composer’s materials not only as a means of expression but also as a live mechanism of creating new materials and, therefore, new and unexpected experiences.

Musical direction: Nicolas Vassiliou
Performing: Niki Lada soprano, Christos Kechris tenor
Featuring the Ergon Ensemble: Nikos Nikopoulos flute, Kostas Tzekos clarinet, Manos Ventouras horn, Spyros Arkoudis trumpet, Andreas-Rolandos Theodorou   trombone, Kostas Panagiotidis, Vasilis Soukas, Dimitra Triantafyllou violin, Krystalia Gaitanou viola, Alexandros Botinis, Dimitris Travlos violoncello, Nikos Tsoukalas contrabass, Babis Taliadouros percussion, Stefanos Nasos, Christos Sakellaridis  piano
Participating choral ensemble (11/10): Nikos Ziaziaris, Christos Thanos, Marianna Kavallieratou, Valia Karagiorga, Maro Konstantinopoulou, Faidon Miliadis, Iro Bezou, Giorgos Nikopoulos, Dimitra Trypani, Dorita Chorafa

The Composition Workshop Cycle is held as part of the work “Sub. 6.6 Outreach activities of the Greek National Opera for the promotion of  contemporary and modern Greek culture.”