Press Conference, 18th April 2022
The latest collaboration between the Athens State Orchestra and the leading violinist and conductor Leonidas Kavakos was announced on Monday 18 April in the foyer of the Christos Lambrakis Hall in the presence of the Deputy Minister for Contemporary Culture, Nicholas Yatromanolakis, the Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Greece, Maria Clara Martin, and Leonidas Kavakos. The proceeds from the concert, which is due to take place on June 4 at the Athens Megaron Concert Hall and which opens a new chapter in the Orchestra's educational, social and charitable work, will be made available for Child Refugees from Ukraine, many of whom are unaccompanied.
The event was coordinated by the Artistic Director of the Athens State Orchestra, Loukas Karytinos. Also present were the President of the Board of Directors, Professor Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, and the President of the Association of Athens State Orchestra Musicians, Michalis Ramos, who took the floor after the opening address by Mr Yatromanolakis and Ms Martin. He was followed by Mr Kavakos, who also said a few words.
The concert programme, which was decided on at a meeting between Leonidas Kavakos and the musicians of the Athens State Orchestra, will be celebratory and participatory in nature. Its centre piece will be Brahms' iconic Fourth Symphony.
Holding this new concert within the 2021-2022 artistic period of Megaron - the Athens Concert Hall, has been achieved thanks to the unreserved help of the President of Megaron's Organization, Mr Nikos E. Pimblis. We heartily thank Mr Pimblis for his support.
Announcement
The Athens State Orchestra shares our audience's worries and concerns.
Out of respect for Ukraine's dead and the needs of our fellow human beings, we have accepted the proposal of the artistic director of the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, Mr Lefteris Giovanidis, that the proceeds from the concert scheduled for today should be donated to the fund created for rebuilding the Mariupol Maternity Hospital.
The Athens State Orchestra was founded to bring music to the people of Greece and has been doing so regularly for decades now. It strives, as far as possible given the institutional support it receives, to make the joy of listening to live music available to Greeks all around the country and all year round. We remain consistently at the side of our society's weakest members with extensive social programmes including the "Seminars for Brass Players" and "Epi-menontas Aigaio". We have given concerts in rehabilitation centres, in detention and correctional centres, in institutions for the disabled and in hospitals, doing everything in our power to provide some relief, however slight, without remuneration. Finally, we are one of the few institutions (and certainly the only musical one) that has developed a special programme for refugees, our "Pink Box"; indeed, firm in our belief that man, as a social being, is not only in need of food and shelter, we have had the programme up and running since the first wave of refugees arrived in Greece. The crucial social actions we operate throughout Attica also include "A Right to Music" and, of course, "Offering Music and a Musical Offering" under Leonidas Kavakos— an excellent initiative for which we have publicly thanked him many times.