City of Athens Symphony Orchestra

Established in 1996 by the municipality, this orchestra of some eighty players belongs to the city rather than to the state, and its brief is correspondingly wide: symphonic repertoire from the baroque to the present day, opera and operetta from the Greek and international traditions, and a particular attachment to Greek entechno song. It has given the first performances of a considerable body of contemporary Greek music, and has run fifteen conducting masterclasses with Greek maestri. Michalis Ikonomou and Andreas Tselikas have served as its permanent conductors, and Loukas Karytinos, George Petrou and Marcello Rota have been among the guests. Work in schools and charitable concerts run alongside the season, and the orchestra has appeared within the Athens Epidaurus Festival.