Programme for the Competition to fill three vacancies of permanent artistic personnel of the Athens State Orchestra, May 2026
The programme for the Competition is as follows:
Position for Musician Tutti in 2nd violins:
a) The first movement with cadenza of one of the following concerti: Wieniavvsky's violin concerto no. 2, Mendelssohn's violin concerto or Bruch's violin concerto
b) The first movement with cadenza of one of the following Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's concerti: violin concerto No. 3 in G major or violin concerto no. 4 in D major or violin concerto No. 5 in A major
c) Orchestral excerpts. The orchestral excerpts will be available to download in the present web page. The date of the publication of the orchestral excerpts will be announced in our web site.
Position for Musician Tutti in double basses:
a) Two movements (slow and fast) of the concerti composed by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Serge Koussevitzky and Giovanni Bottesini
b) Orchestral excerpts. The orchestral excerpts will be available to download in the present web page. The date of the publication of the orchestral excerpts will be announced in our web site.
Position for Musician Tutti in cellos:
a) One of the cello concerti composed by Édouard Lalo or Camille Saint-Saëns, the 1st movement
b) The first movement with cadenza of Franz Joseph Haydn's cello concerto
c) Orchestral excerpts. The orchestral excerpts will be available to download in the present web page. The date of the publication of the orchestral excerpts will be announced in our web site.
Candidates living in Greece should assure the presence of their own piano accompanist. The Athens State Orchestra will provide a pianist to accompany permanent residents of abroad. Residents of abroad are kindly requested to contact us (+30 210 7257601, 602 and 603, papostolidis@koa.gr) to schedule their travel to Athens and to purchase in time their tickets.
The orchestral excerpts will be available shortly at the Athens State Orchestra's offices and on this website.
In case a candidate applies for two (2) positions, the examination for the second one concerns only the parts of the examination programme that differ.
Competition for permanent artistic personnel, May 2026
The Athens State Orchestra is announcing a competition to fill three (3) vacancies of permanent artistic personnel. Applications must be submitted from March 20, 2026 to April 18, 2026.
The three (3) vacancies of permanent artistic personnel are the following:
A. Category V - Musician Tutti in second violins
a. One (1) position of Musician Tutti in second violins
type of position for Musician: Permanent with 2-year probation period
start date: May 2027, approximately
Initial Gross Salary: 2,000.00€ approximately (Includes tax and benefits)
Number of services per month: 28 (100%)
Vacation per year: 25
B. Category V - Musician Tutti in double basses
a. One (1) position of Musician Tutti in double basses
type of position for Musician: Permanent with 2-year probation period
start date: May 2027, approximately
Initial Gross Salary: 2,000.00€ approximately (Includes tax and benefits)
Number of services per month: 28 (100%)
Vacation per year: 25
C. Category V - Musician Tutti in cellos
a. One (1) position of Musician Tutti in cellos
type of position for Musician: Permanent with 2-year probation period
start date: May 2027, approximately
Initial Gross Salary: 2,000.00€ approximately (Includes tax and benefits)
Number of services per month: 28 (100%)
Vacation per year: 25
According to Article 3 (2b) of ΥΥΠΟ/ΚΑΤΕΧΝ/Δ/35836, a degree or diploma from a recognized conservatory or music school in Greece, or recognized music Institution abroad, must be submitted when the staff member is being evaluated for a permanent position on completion of two probationary years, and not when submitting the initial application.
Candidates must comply with the following criteria:
1. In terms of citizenship, they must be:
a) Greek citizens or
b) citizens of a member state of the European Union*, or
c) Northern Epirotes, Greek Cypriots or Greek ethnics from Istanbul, Imvros, Tenedos or Egypt; certificates of Greek ethnicity are not required, on the condition that the quality of Greek descent and consciousness is demonstrated in other ways according to the Greek legislation, or
d) Naturalized Greeks
*According to the European legislation, citizens of Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland have the same working rights as any citizen of a state member of the European Union.
2. They must have completed their 21st year of age or, in the case of musicians of acknowledged talent, their 15th accordingly.
3. They must be physically suitable to undertake the duties that come with the position for which they are applying, according to the Greek legislation.
4. There should be no hindrance relative to criminal convictions or legal proceedings pending against them according to the Greek legislation and they should not have been judged partially or fully unfit to represent themselves in court according to the Greek legislation.
The competitions will take place in Athens, in the rehearsal hall of the Athens State Orchestra in the Megaron – the Athens Concert Hall. The starting date for the competitions is May 19, 2026. Residents of abroad are kindly requested to contact us (+30 210 7257601, 602 and 603, papostolidis@koa.gr) to schedule their travel to Athens and to purchase in time their tickets. The schedule for each competition will be published in the present website.
Candidates must submit their signed application from March 20, 2026, until April 18, 2026, in a special application form, either themselves at the administration offices of the Athens State Orchestra (Vassilissis Sofias & Kokkali 1, 11521, Athens) or by registered post with a sender’s receipt, or by email sent to papostolidis@koa.gr.
The application form, the programme in which candidates will be examined, as well as the official announcement of the competitions are available to download in the following links:
a) for the application form, click here
b) for the official summary of the competitions (available only in Greek as published by the Ministry of Culture, click here).
c) for the official announcement of the competitions (available only in Greek as published in the Official Government Gazette), click here.
d) for the programme in which candidates will be examined, click here.
Candidates must attach to their application a Curriculum Vitae as well as every other document which could contribute to depict their artistic personality and capability.
From the Management of the Athens State Orchestra
A new recording by the Athens State Orchestra - Yorgo Sicilianos
The Athens State Orchestra, the oldest symphonic ensemble in Greece, pays tribute on its new GENUIN release to one of the country’s most significant 20th-century composers: Yorgo Sicilianos. The program presents large-scale, dramatically charged orchestral works spanning three decades: Sicilianos’ Symphony No. 2, dedicated to the memory of the great Dmitri Mitropoulos; “Antiphona” for brass, strings, and timpani; and the symphonic poem “Daimon”, inspired by Thomas Mann’s seminal novel “Dr. Faustus”. With Ilias Voudouris – a central figure in Greek musical life – on the podium, the orchestra brings Sicilianos’ colorful and intricately crafted sound world vividly to life, with passion and striking attention to detail.
Listen to the CD, available at Genuin Classics website.
Programme:
Yorgo Sicilianos (1920–2005)
Daimon. Symphonic Fantasy, Op. 50
I. Lento assai
II. Piu mosso
III. Allegro vivo
IV. Tempo del inizio
V. Alla breve
VI. Allegro molto, con furia
VII. Adagio
Yorgo Sicilianos
Symphony No. 2 , Op. 58 "To the memory of Dimitri Mitropoulos"
I. Allegro deciso
II. Intermezzo Allegretto
III. Adagio
IV. Finale Allegro vivace
Yorgo Sicilianos
Antiphona for Brass, Timpani and Strings, Op. 40
I.
II.
III.
The disc was recorded at the Athens Megaron Concert Hall under the artistic direction of Holger Busse and is available in physical format (CD), as well as on all digital streaming platforms. By this release, the Athens State Orchestra continues its collaboration with GENUIN classics based in Leipzig, one of the most renowned independent labels in the field of classical music.
This collaboration is particularly important to the promotion of the Greek symphonic repertoire internationally, as it introduces the work of Greek composers to a worldwide distribution, critical assessment and artistic discussion network. Thus, Greek classical music becomes strongly present within the international discography, reinforcing its position in the contemporary musical field and contributing to the formation of an extrovertive, dynamic cultural identity.
The recording repertoire comprises three among the composer’s key symphonic works: Daimon symphonic Fantasy (op. 50) was concluded in 1985 and inspired by Thomas Mann’s famous novel Dr. Faustus. Symphony no. 2 (op. 58), to the memory of Dimitri Mitropoulos was composed in Spring 1997 and comprises four extent, contrastive moves. Antiphona is the oldest among the three works, composed in 1976 for an original combination of brass, timpani and strings. It was performed for the first time by the Athens State orchestra and by the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig in 1984, conducted by Kurt Masur.
Listen to the album, already available at Genuin Classics.