Antigoni Tsalla
Antigoni Tsalla studied piano, flute and theory at the Athens Conservatory and later Musicology at the Ionian University. Her curiosity about early music and the baroque flute with its unique sound, led her – after her graduation – to continue her studies (BMus and MMus) with a scholarship from the Public Benefit Foundation Alexandros S. Onassis at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. She had the opportunity to work with various baroque orchestras and chamber ensembles, such as Musica Poetica, De Swaen, the Bach Orchestra of the Netherlands, Il Concerto Barocco, Contrasto Armonico, as well as the Camerata Athens, with concerts in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Croatia and Greece, while she has performed with various ensembles at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, in Athens Concert Hall, the Onassis Foundation, the National Opera and the Alternative Stage and elsewhere. She has also recorded orchestral music on the Brilliant record labels Classics and MDG. Lately she is teaching flute at State Music Schools.
Alexis Mastichiadis
Alexis Mastichiadis specializes in historical keyboard instruments of the Baroque and Renaissance era. From a young age he started harpsichord lessons with Daphne Kokkoni. At the musical department of the Ionian University he continued his studies with Katerina Michopoulou. At the Utrecht Music Academy he studied with Siebe Henstra and Reitze Smits from where he graduated with honors in his postgraduate studies. He is PhD candidate of the Ionian University while simultaneously teaching harpsichord and clavichord at the MusicHub conservatory. He has given concerts in France, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Austria and Germany. In Greece he has performed numerous times at the National Opera as well as as a soloist at the Athens and Thessaloniki Concert Hall. As an orchestra member orchestra, he has participated in recordings with labels such as DECCA and MDG, while preparing his first solo record with Brilliant Classics. At the same time, he also collaborates with experimental sound artists such as: MMMD and Supersonic Elephant Club with discography “L’age de l’absolutisme” (2021) and the “s.e.c.”(2022) respectively.
Maria Palaska
Maria Palaska is a lyric soprano who frequently performs at opera stages and concert halls in Germany, Greece, Austria, Italy, Spain. The versatile Greek soprano enjoys a wide repertory ranging from Monteverdi, Händel, Mozart to Bellini, Donizetti, Strauss and extending to contemporary composers such as Manfred Trojahn, Wolfgang Rihm and Jonathan Dove.
The soprano is a regular guest soloist with the Armonia Atenea Orchestra, Latinitas Nostra and Sinfonia 02. Highlights include performances with the Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Rijeka State Orchestra Croatia, Thessaloniki State Orchestra, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Greek Radio and Television Orchestra. She collaborated with conductors such as Nicholas Kok, Philippe Auguin, Till Drömann, Markellos Chryssikos, Myron Michailidis, David Parry, Willem Wentzel, Michalis Economou, Kay Johannsen, Jörg-Hannes Hahn, Tobias Horn. On stage she has worked with stage directors such as Marco-Arturo Marelli, Tobias Ribitzki, Marcus Bothe, Paolo Micchichè, Pamela Howard, Dorotty Szalma, Barbara Tacchini, Nikos Karathanos, Thanos Papakonstantinou.
Maria Palaska initiated her musical studies at Thessaloniki Synchronon Conservatory. After winning the State Scholarship IKY for vocal Studies in Germany, she was accepted at the Opera program and Liedklasse of the State Music Academy of Stuttgart (class of Prof. Dunja Vejzovic – Diplom KA 2009 and Liedklasse of Prof. Cornelis Witthoefft – Master 2012). Her participations in Master Classes with KS Christa Ludwig, Prof. Cheryl Studer and KS Brigitte Fassbaender provided her with further musical and vocal impulses.
During her studies Maria made her soloist debut at the Opera Thessaloniki as Papagena and Blonde. After participating at the Spazio Musica Laboratorio Lirico in
Orvieto Italy she was offered the role of Carolina in Cimarosa ́s Matrimonio Segreto at the Teatro Mancinelli. At the Junge Oper Stuttgart Maria appeared as Rosaura at the new production the Adventures of Pinocchio of Jonathan Dove at the Staatsoper Stuttgart and as second Nixe at NIXE/ Rusalka in Forum Ludwigsburg. She has also worked in Productions of Wilhelma Theater Stuttgart, Theater Konstanz, Oper Laubach, Opernwerkstatt am Rhein Köln a.o. Since 2015 Maria is a regular guest at the Greek National Opera and Megaron Athens. Her Erodiade in Salomé, a scenical adaptation of Alessandro Stradellas Oratorio at the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, brought her recognition from public and the press. Significant roles performed on stage are, Adina l’ Elisir d’ amore, Frasquita Carmen, Olympia Les Contes d’ Hofmann, Gretel in Hänsel and Gretel,Blonde and Konstanze in the Abduction from the Seraglio, Pamina in the Magic Flute, Maria in The Diktator, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Musetta in La Bohème.
Chamber Music and art song recitals play an important role in her artistic path with frequent invitations a.o. from the International Hugo-Wolf-Akademie, Richard- Strauss-Institut München, Musik am 13. Stuttgart, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Sofiensaal Wien. A recording of the soprano is included in the CD of the Stuttgart Music Academy “Resonanz 2010”. After receiving the Richard Wagner Scholarship Maria performed together with the pianist Lisa Wellisch at the Wagner Reihe Lied matinees in Bayreuth during Wagner Year 2013. Since 2016 she performs regularly the Liebesliederwalzer & die Neue Liebeslieder von Brahms in solo quartett. In September 2018 Maria performed with the renowned lutist Lee Santana the “Mythic Ticket” a new concert program for Soprano and Lute/ Theorbo at the Athens Baroque Festival.
Lee Santana
Lee Santana was born into a musicians’ family in Sarasota/Florida. As a child he loved to play jazz and rock music and didn’t really enjoy classical music, later these preferences interchanged.
After many detours he graduated from the Emerson College in Boston (Massachusetts) with diplomas in Early Music and Music Theory (summa cum laude). His lute teachers were (amongst others) Pat O’Brien and Steve Stubbs.
In 1984 he moved to Germany and has been living there as a free lance musician and composer. He played in all big Festivals for Early Music with a lot of the best known ensembles ( Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, The Harp Consort, Hesperion XX, Musica Fiata), as well as with his own band ‚Los Otros’. His work as a soloist, continuo player and composer is documented in over 60 CD- productions. His main activity is his duo with the gambist Hille Perl, but he is also happy to be part of their collaboration in the ensembles ‚Sirius Viols’ or ‚The Age of Passion’.
Sevastianos Motorinos
Sevastianos Motorinos specializes in historical keyboard instruments with emphasis on the harpsichord and fortepiano. He often performs in recitals and participates in concerts as a member of orchestras or ensembles, as well as conducting chamber music from the harpsichord. He also composes music. Among others he has performed in: Athens Concert Hall, Alternative Stage – Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Athens Baroque Festival, Utrecht early music festival – fringe, St.Petersburg Chamber Opera, Tivoli Vredenburg, as well as in churches, festivals and theaters in the Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, Russia and Italy.
He participated in the production of the opera “Dido and Aeneas” by Henry Purcell in collaboration with the Municipal Orchestra of Thessaloniki. In one series of concerts in 2022 he conducted the Conservatory Orchestra from the harpsichord of Utrecht in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. He also worked with Hellenic Youth Symphony Orchestra (ELSON). Sebastianos is a member of various chamber music ensembles such as: Diverse and Bizarre ensemble, Decameron ensemble, ensemble Amalthea, Albionoria and Dialoghi trio.
In 2023 he founded the baroque orchestra Camerata Utricia. In 2020 he graduated from the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University with Professor Katerina Michopoulou. He also studied at the Utrecht Conservatory and later at the Royal Hague Conservatory as part of the ‘Erasmus’ student exchange program. In 2022 he graduated from postgraduate program of the Utrecht conservatory with Siebe Henstra as professor.
He has attended seminars with Pierre Hantai, Skip Sempe, Wilbert Hazelzet, Menno van Delft, Peter Seymour, Ana Mafalda Castro among others. He was a finalist in the Gianni Gambi Harpsichord Competition 2022 in Pesaro. He was in the final of the Rheinsberger Hofkapelle competition competition 2022 as well as in the final of the Tel Aviv international recorder competition 2022 in the chamber music category. He won a “special gold praise” – in Paris music competition – 2019.
Nicoleta Chatzopoulou
Nicoleta Chatzopoulou is a composer, performer, researcher, and curator based in Athens, Greece. Within an interdisciplinary background, she focuses on the creation of organized sound based on the relationship between silence and noise, and space and sound, as well as on non-musical sources.
Her compositions include acoustic works for solo instruments and various chamber ensembles, electroacoustic works, chamber operas and vocal works, algorithmic and site-specific compositions. Her artistic output as viola da gamba player and performer ranges from early and contemporary music to improvised, pop, and music for multidisciplinary projects.
She studied music composition at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, and astrophysics at the University of Wales in Cardiff. She is currently a PhD candidate in architecture and music at the Technical University of Crete. She organizes and curates projects in her space NGallery. In 2020 she formed the international trio WAN.
Grigorios Pyrialakos
Τhe bass-baritone Grigorios Pyrialakos was born in Thessaloniki. He holds a soloist diploma in classical singing (1994 with honors – first prize) and opera acting (1999 with honors – first prize) from the Municipal Conservatory of Thessaloniki. During the years 2003 to 2005 he studied in Cambridge University specializing in early music interpretation and 20th century music receiving a Master in Music.
Among the roles he has performed in Greece and England are: Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Bartolo (il Barbiere di Siviglia), Don Annibale (Il campanello di notte), John Shears – Ben Benny (Paul Bunyan), Polyphemus (Acis and Galatea), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Mr Peachum (Die Dreigroschenoper), Don Carissimo (La Dirindina), Barone Douphol (La Traviata), Bob (The Old Maid and the Thief), Ben (The telephone), King ( silence the King listens), Colonel (the Baptist) etc. while he has participated in numerous concerts and recitals in Greece and England as a soloist: (“Requiem” by G.Faure, “Zigeunerleben” by J.Brahms, “Ich habe genug” by J.S.Bach, “Requiem” by M.Durufle, ” Weinachtshistorie” by H.Schütz, et al.)
Director of choirs in Greece and England since 1989 (choirs of the municipal conservatories of Ampelokipi & Kalamaria, I.N. Panagouda Thessaloniki, Christian Refuge I.N. Agios Dimitrios, Conservatory of the Northern Greece, “Anglia Voices” etc.) and Professor of classical singing and acting since 1994 (Municipal conservatories of Thessaloniki, Kalamaria, Ampelokipi, Xanthi, Northern Greece Conservatory, Thracian Conservatory of Komotini). He also teaches music and theatrical singing at the Rodidis School of Dramatic Art.
As an actor and performer, he has participated in many performances such as: “Ekklesiazouses” by Aristophanes, “Marriage Proposal” by A. Chekhov, “Baltas” by P. Skroubelos, “Caneloriza” (directed by S. Platiotis), “I like you because …”, “This grave is too small for me – Sarajevo 1914”, “Adam and Eve” and “The night’s makeup” by H. Peidis, “the sixth floor” by Alfred Zeri, etc. He has directed, translated and taught music for the operas: “La Dirindina” by D.Scarlatti, “La Canterina” by J.Haydn, “The Old Maid and the Thief” and “The telephone” by G.C.Menotti, “Hansel and Gretel ” by E.Humperdinck, “Yolka” by A.Rebikof, “La Voix humaine” ,”The Italian Lesson” by L.Hoiby, “Before breakfast” by T.Pasatieri, “Der kanarienvogel kantate”. He dramatized a secular cantata by G.P.Telemann , “La Princesse Jaune” by C.Saint Saëns and “Little red riding hood” by Seymour Barab, most of them as a Greek premiere. At the same time, he has worked extensively with lighting, sets, costumes, poster design, over- titling, kinesiology, choreography, multimedia, video, production of props and presentation in a number of musical and theatrical performances.
He was a member of the opera group “Opero”, the vocal ensemble “the Performers quartet” and the professional choirs “Macedonia” and “Municipal Choir of Thessaloniki” for many years. He is a founding member of the artist group “SourLiBooM” For the winter of 2023-24 he is preparing the pasticcio opera “The Songstress” based on the operas “La Canterina” by J. Haydn and “il Maestro di Capella” by D. Cimarosa in an original Greek translation-performance by himself, and the children’s opera “Modern Little Red Riding Hood” with music from Mozart’s operas and a libretto by himself as well.
Maria Svarna
Maria, a lyric mezzo-soprano, was born in Litochoro of Pieria and, since an early age, participated in amateur dance and theater groups in the area, while from the age of 4 she took music theory and piano lessons. At the age of 16, she started lessons in classical singing with Grigoris Pyrialakos and since 2018 she started studying at the Ampelokipi Municipal Conservatory of Thessaloniki, from where she got a degree in advanced theory with honors and in 2023 she got a soloist diploma in classical singing and opera acting in the class of Professor Grigorios Pyrialakos with an excellent grade and 1st prize.
In 2022 she was distinguished in the Orpheus Soloists National Competition with the 1st prize in the singing category, and received as well, the Audience Award. In the same year, she was selected – after an audition process – for the series of concerts organized by the Association of Friends of Music in Thessaloniki New Talents of Classical Music, which will take place at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall.
She has sung the lead role of Mrs. Todd in the opera “The old maid and the thief” by G.C. Menotti and she is a member of the female vocal ensemble “Voci Contra Tempo”.
Meanwhile, she continues her studies at the Department of Music Studies of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Dimitrios Grigorios Kalogiannis
The counter tenor Dimitrios Grigorios Kalogiannis was born in Thessaloniki and since 1996 he attended classical violin lessons at the Municipal Conservatory of Thessaloniki.
In 2012, he began his studies at the Municipal Conservatory of Ampelokipoi with professor Grigorios Pyrialakos in the classical singing department, from where he graduated with a soloist diploma in 2019.
In 2015 he started his studies at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, in the department of the special course of opera acting. Since 2019, he continues his training in classical singing alongside Stamatia Molloudis, at the Voice Portal school.
He has sung the role of Liscione in the opera “La Dirindina” by D. Scarlatti in Larissa and Thessaloniki, as well as the role of Sandman in the opera “Hansel and Gretel” by E. Humperdinck. Since 2014 he participated in many artistic events as a soloist, chorister, lyrical singer and as an actor and singer of the lyrical theater.
Kira Saplachidou
Kira Saplachidou received her first musical lessons at a very young age from important flutists of the country, such as Iwona Glinka in Athens, Ilie Macovei and Matoula Hadzi at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki.
She graduated from Iwona Glinka’s flute class at the Musical Horizons Conservatory, unanimously receiving a Soloist Diploma with Excellent Grade. She continued her musical education in the class of Professor Gülsen Arife Tatu at the State Music University of Trossingen, Germany.
In 2012 she graduated with a Bachelor of Music – specializing in Flute and began her teaching career at conservatories in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany.
From 2014 to 2016, she continued her studies in the Early Music department of the Trossingen State University of Music, specializing in Transverse Flute and historical interpretation – class Dr. Linde Brunmayr-Tutz and graduated with a Master’s in Early Music.
She attended a series of Educational Seminars in Germany concerning teaching music to disabled people, as well as flute and traverso seminars with professors P.L.Graf, F.Renggli, R.Brown, K.H.Schutz, L.M.Tanguy, and P.Hantai.
Currently, she teaches flute at the State Music School of Lamia and at the Volos Municipal Conservatory and she is a member of the Diverse and Bizarre ensemble among others.
Anastasia Miliori
Anastasia Miliori performs Early and Contemporary music using improvisation with flexibility. She holds a soloist diploma in violin (class of Dimitri Semsis), classical singing (class of Magdalini Tzavela), and advanced theory (class of Nikos Panagiotakis), and she is a graduate of the Medieval-Modern Greek Literature department of the Athens Philosophical School.
She specialized in Early Music at the State Music University of Trossingen in Germany with a focus on baroque violin (class of Anton Steck and Jana Chytilova – Master in Early Music) and meanwhile studied classical singing with Frederique Friess at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart and with Jan Van Elsacker at the State Music University of Trossingen.
She has collaborated with chamber orchestras and baroque orchestras in Greece and Germany, such as Laudamus-Te Stuttgart under Monica Vasquez, Collegium Musicum Stuttgart, European Union Baroque Orchestra under Lars-Ulrik Mortensen, Bern Consort under Jörg Ritter, Orchestra of Patras under Giorgos Petrou (recordings for MDG), Unesco World Youth Orchestra “Jeunesse Musicale” under Josep Vicent, Baroque Project under Gerasimos Hoidas and ASON under Nikos Athanasopoulos.
She is a founding member of the baroque ensemble Diverse and Bizarre, with which she has performed at the Alternative Stage of Stavros Niarchos Foundation, at the Philippos Nakas Hall, at the Athens Baroque Festival, on a tour of the Dodecanese Islands under the auspices of the South Aegean Region and at the Finska Kyrkan in Stockholm.
As a soloist and as a duo with the pianist Olympia Papapanagiotou, she has performed, among others: at the Athens Concert Hall, at the Aegina International Festival, at the Church Organ Festival in Agios Pavlos, at the Gyzi Palace Festival and at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art.
She has taught violin, chamber music, classical singing, and baroque violin in conservatories and seminars in Greece, Germany, and the Netherlands. He has taken up the coaching of string ensembles and the direction of children’s choirs, and since 2021 she has been working in Primary Education.
She is the artistic director of the Athens Baroque Festival.
