Sounding Forms

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.

Sounding Forms
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.

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.”