Nicholas Spanos, contra-tenor
Yiorgos Tsiardakas, flute
Anastasios Strikos, piano
Thursday, August 20, 21:00
George Hadjinikos Hall
Admission:15€
With the support of the Austrian Embassy in Athens
Nicholas Spanos is an internationally famous countertenor. His lifelong passion for singing began in childhood and led him to study with renowned teachers, including Aris Christofellis in Greece and Linda Mabbs and Leon Major at the University of Maryland, where he earned a Master of Music in Voice/Opera Performance. He further refined his craft with a postgraduate course in Lied & Oratorio in Vienna. Spanos has performed as a soloist in opera, oratorio, and recitals worldwide and been acclaimed for his vocal and stage presence. He has collaborated with prestigious ensembles and orchestras, such as the Vienna State Opera, National Opera of Greece, Venice Baroque Orchestra, and Les Talens Lyriques, and has graced iconic venues like the Musikverein (Vienna), Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris), and Sydney Recital Hall. A regular collaborator with early music ensembles like “Ex Silentio” and “Pandolfis Consort Wien,” Spanos has received numerous accolades, including the “Best Young Artist of the Year” award in Greece (2002) and First Prize at the “TECHNI” National Competition for Opera Singers (2006). His discography includes acclaimed recordings of Handel’s Oreste and Tamerlano, as well as albums like Adoration (2016) and Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus & Stabat Mater (2021). Based in Vienna, Spanos continues to captivate audiences worldwide with his artistry. https://nicholas-spanos.com
Anastasios Strikos was born in Athens in 1972. He holds a piano diploma with honors from the Attic Conservatory (class of Dionysis Mallouhou) and a degree in Theatre Studies from the University of Athens. He studied conducting with a scholarship from the Athens Academy at the Würzburg Academy of Music in the class of Dr. Hermann Dechant and Peter Falk, conducting and opera school respectively, and graduated with the post-graduate title Konzertdiplom. He participated in international conducting seminars and attended private lessons with Carlo Maria Giulini. He worked at the Würzburg Opera House as a music trainer and orchestra conductor. Later he worked as a pianist and conductor in the famous children’s choir Wiener Sängerknaben. His concert activity combines a wide range of repertoire, orchestras, choirs, halls and collaborators throughout Europe. He has also appeared in all the major concert halls of China, Korea and Macau. He has toured with over seventy ensembles throughout Europe, including the most important Youth Symphony Orchestras of America. In 2005 he founded the Ensemble Retro Wien. He teaches and conducts in seven languages and has occasionally translated plays and works of music theorists into Greek. http://www.strikos.at/
Born in Larissa, Giorgos Tsiardakas began his musical studies at the Municipal Conservatory of the city, in the class of Mr. Ilie Makovei. In 1998 he entered the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, where, under the guidance of Nikolos Dimopoulos, he obtained his diploma.
He performs solo recitals, recordings and participates in various chamber music ensembles and orchestras. His intense artistic activity earned him several awards, he obtained a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation for studies abroad and he was awarded the position of extraordinary member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra, in whose auditions he received special distinctions.
In 2013, he obtained a university degree in flute from the Maastricht Academy of Music, with Philippe Benoit as his professor.
He has attended numerous seminars, including those with Wissam Bustany, Lorant Kovacs and Samuel Coles.
As a flute professor at the Municipal Conservatory of Larissa, he shows a particular interest in teaching, aiming to highlight the importance and role of musical education in the development of young children’s personalities.