The Athens Conservatoire is the oldest and the most prestigious educational institution of performing arts in modern Greece, founded as a non-profit organization in 1871, encompassing all three disciplines, Music, Theatre, Dance, under a single roof.
World-renowned personalities such as Dimitri Mitropoulos, Maria Callas, Nikos Skalkotas, Dimitris Myrat, Kostas Mousouris, Dimitris Rontiris and many others, studied or started their careers here, while its activities sparked the creation of organizations such as the National Orchestra and the National Theatre of Greece.
Moreover, its iconic building at the heart of Athens, an officially designated “Modern Architectural Monument” by the Ministry of Culture, designed by Ioannis Despotopoulos, an “ambassador” of modern and bauhaus architecture in Greece, make it a unique and enviable cultural hub for various contemporary art and cultural events, cultivating a vibrant environment of artistic expression for its community and the citizens and visitors of Athens.
Nikos Tsouchlos | President of the Board of Directors
Nikos is a conductor and a musicologist trained in Athens and Paris, a former Artistic Director of Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall and a distinguished member of the Greek cultural community. Apart from his multifarious artistic and administrative activities, Nikos is currently a Professor in the Music Department of the Ionian University at Corfu, where he holds the Chair on the Theory and History of Musical Performance.
In more detail:
THE MUSIC SCHOOL
The Music School has been the home of prominent international artists like Maria Callas, Dimitris Mitropoulos, Gina Bachauer, Mikis Theodorakis, Nikos Skalkottas, Spyros Samaras, Alexandra Triantis, Dimitris Sgouros and many others.
Today, it continues to offer to its c.700 music students the full range of theoretical and practical training in music performance, extending from early music and classical up to jazz and electronic music, from the earliest stages of learning up to the highest concert diploma. An important part of their experience, is the requirement and the opportunity for students to participate in ensembles and resident student orchestras which perform in public concerts, either in the school’s own auditoriums or even in prominent cultural venues across Athens.
Moreover, since September 2021 a novel institutional partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London allows the delivery of a Bachelor of Music programme, enabling successful graduates to receive an internationally recognised UK degree award following a four-year programme of validated study at the premises of the Athens Conservatoire.
It’s worth noting that a group of endowments and donors offer valuable financial support to selected students – some in need – who exhibit a demonstrable potential and talent in music performance.
Finally, the school regularly collaborates with international institutions such as the Festival of Ambronay in France, the University of Leeds and others, while various specialized seminars and masterclasses broaden the school’s standing in the contemporary musical scene.
The Athens Conservatoire is an Active Member of AEC (Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen) the prominent European cultural and educational network, with around 300 member institutions representing Higher Music Education Institutions in Europe and beyond.
THE DRAMA SCHOOL
It is the first organized Drama School in modern Greece, also founded in 1871, and is included among the select few top professional drama schools in Greece, officially accredited by the Greek Ministry of Culture for the provision of higher education degrees in theatre studies.
The school attracts top class candidates every year and prominent artists from the theatre community are included among its academic teaching staff.
Students and staff regularly stage cutting-edge performances in Greece and abroad, while the school pursues a particularly extrovert and international outlook, collaborating regularly with leading international drama schools like HfS Ernst Busch of Berlin, LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art), GITIS (Russian Academy of Theatrical Studies), the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University in Tbilisi, Georgia, and many others.
The Drama School is a member of the World Theatre Education Alliance (WTEA), an international organization established in Beijing, that unites 16 world-renowned drama schools for educational exchanges and cooperation, aiming to foster global perspectives, promote dialogue between different cultures and celebrate cultural diversity for the prosperity of theatre education.
Constantine Arvanitakis | Director of Drama
Constantine, a musician and a trained actor, is leading the Drama School since 2005, implementing a successful strategy that blends a highly demanding academic programme, with openness, creativity and extroversion, a path that has led the school in the top ranks in recognition and respect. He studied cinema at New York University and obtained his MA in theatre direction from the University of California. He has also followed Actors Studio classes and worked with Grotowski. Since then, he has directed numerous theatre productions both in the USA and in Greece.
THE DANCE SCHOOL
The newest but all important addition is the Dance School whish is also one of the few officially accredited schools by the Greek Ministry of Culture for the provision of higher education degrees in dance studies. The school covers the full range of dance studies, from the first steps of children’s training, up to seasoned dancers aspiring to a full-scale professional career. The school’s curriculum embraces both classical ballet and contemporary dance, aiming to provide a holistic artistic experience and perspective for its students.
Regularly visiting leading artists who deliver masterclasses and seminars enrich a particularly comprehensive and demanding study programme, ensuring that graduates will have acquired all the creative and technical skills for a successful and fulfilling career as dancers or choreographers.
Lila Zafiropoulou | Director of Dance
Lila is an award-winning choreographer and dancer. A graduate of the Greek National School of Dance and London’s Laban Centre, she has performed and taught internationally. She founded ELDOR Dance Company in 2002, producing over 20 original works. Her collaborations span major Greek institutions, international festivals, and acclaimed ensembles. She has served as vice president of the Greek Choreographers Association and as a jury member for the Ministry of Culture. Recognized for her artistry and leadership, she continues to shape the future of contemporary dance in Greece and beyond.
THE CENTRE FOR RESEARCH, PUBLISHING & ARCHIVES
Since its establishment in 2015, the Centre has been entrusted with the preservation, documentation, organization and study of the institution’s extensive historical records, a work of complexity and great significance which sheds a novel and invaluable light into the musical and theatrical history of modern Greece.
The Centre is currently near the concluding stages of the documentation and digitization of its collection, which will soon be available online to researchers, scholars and the interested public at large.
Moreover, it has already concluded the two, out of three, first volumes of the first extensive “History of Music in Modern Greece“, a seminal publication which is the outcome of a large-scale collaborative effort among leading researchers and scholars. The third and final volume is approaching the final stages before publication.
Thanks to its reputation, the centre has also been entrusted with the hosting and preservation of very important archives of leading composers or collectors, like the Jani Christou Archive, the Dionysios Lavragas Archive, the Markos Dragoumis Archive, the Stathis Arfanis Archive and others.
A PROMINENT CULTURAL HUB IN ATHENS
The iconic building’s premium location at the heart of Athens, next to the Lyceum of Aristotle and within easy walking distance from the Presidential Mansion, the Greek Parliament, the National Gardens and the Panathenaic Stadium, make it a unique and enviable cultural hub for various contemporary arts and cultural events.
To name but a few, the Athens Conservatoire has been a “main partner venue” of the documenta 14, the leading international art exhibition hosted by Athens in 2017, the main venue of Rolex Arts Festival, the prestigious 20-year anniversary of their global arts and mentoring programme, has hosted prominent arts exhibitions like Dimitris Daskalopoulos’s famous modern arts collection, Prix Pictet’s Annual Photography Award Exhibition, and numerous other events with leading partner organizations like the annual Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the longest running festival in Europe, the Onassis Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Goethe Institut, Camerata Europea, Schwarz Foundation, and many others.
THE BUILDING: AN ICONIC MONUMENT OF MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Since 2017, the iconic building of the institution is officially designated as a “Modern Monument of Architecture” by the Greek Ministry of Culture.
The building is designed by the famous Greek architect Ioannis Despotopoulos (1903-1992) – also known as Jan Despo by his peers – who holds a prominent position within the modernist architectural movement of the 1930s and the Bauhaus movement in which he actively participated after studying in the Bauhaus School in Weimar.
His work for the Athens Conservatoire is the only completed part of an ambitious large-scale cultural complex for which he earned the top architectural prize in 1959. It is currently one of the very few buildings in Greece inspired by the Bauhaus philosophy and tradition and is a constant focus of academic research and public pride and attention.
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