Special hybrid concert of pan-European music cooperation at the "Empress Theophano" Award Ceremony

On Wednesday, 13 October 2021, student of Mandoulides Schools Thanos Kyparos (9th grade) participated in a special hybrid concert of pan-European music cooperation in the framework of an innovative International Educational Program entitled "MakeMusiCoviT." The program was conducted under the supervision and with the guidance of its initiators and creators, George Emmanuel Lazaridis and Safira Antzus Ramos.   

The concert constituted the musical part of the important event of the "Empress Theophano" Award Ceremony. This year the prize was awarded to the two researchers and scientists who developed the first vaccine against coronavirus.The ceremony took place at Rotunda, an emblematic monument of Thessaloniki. Among the attendants were the President of the Hellenic Republic, former Presidents of European countries and significant figures of various domains, such as politics, science, culture and business.

More specifically, Thanos Kyparos was one of the eight talented young musicians aged 14-21 who were selected to participate. They collaborated with six professional musicians from various places of Europe for approximately two months this past summer through the use of the Internet and modern technology. They conducted intensive seminars on composition and performance of music. They, also, created a unique joint musical work that could be characterized as "Theme and 8 Variations." 

Inspired by the marvelous Byzantine hymn "Oh my sweet spring," these eight young musicians composed a musical variation which is based on a different European musical tradition and reflects its distinct music characteristics. 

This musical work was presented by all 8 composers - performers in a hybrid manner: the three young musicians from Norway, Spain and Germany were playing music from a distance and could be seen at the alcoves of the monument of Rotunda in a digital form via the Internet, while the five Greek musicians were performing live. The young musicians were accompanied by George Emmanuel Lazaridis who played the piano and Safiora Antzus Ramos who guided them. In fact, these were the initiators and creators of the program, which allowed an alternative mode of pan-European collaboration, creation, composition and performance of music during the current challenging times while surpassing the obstacles caused by the pandemic through the use of modern technology.

You can watch the event by watching the following video. The concert begins at 1:09:09.