Ann-Kristín Sofroniou is a musician (piano & composition), artistic researcher and programme designer working across culture, education and social impact.
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As a musician, she regularly performs and collaborates with other artists and musicians, having performed in Greece (such as Ov Off Studio, Onassis Stegi, Greek National Opera, Parnassus Literary Society Concert Hall, Kournos Music Festival, Agios Lavrentios Music Village Festival), and internationally (such as Harpa Concert Hall, Barbican Curious Festival, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity/Canada, Fondation Beyeler/Basel, Université Concordia concert hall/Montreal, Casalmaggiore Music Festival/Italy). She has recorded for the Greek National Opera, Plainsound Music Edition and Musikk-Husets Forlag and has published articles in the following journals/books: in the collective volume ‘Culture, Arts, Inclusion’ (Thessaloniki: Sofia Publications, 2023), Tandem Europe website (2020), and the ÍMPAR Online journal for artistic research in music, Vol. 2, Nº 1, 2018 Music for and by children.
From 2018 until 2023, she held the position of ‘Coordinator of Research and Educational Design’ at the Learning & Participation Department at the Greek National Opera (GNO). Her main activities were to manage, implement and evaluate a vast number of diverse artistic and educational projects with the aim to familiarize audiences of all age groups, cultural and social backgrounds with opera and music theatre. She ran several educational/artistic projects as music workshop leader at the GNO (composition co-creation with children of various ages, opera hub for young asylum-seeking refugees, etc), and created an interactive original music fairy-tale performance for and with children. Moreover, she was the project manager of a large number of workshops at the GNO over the years, with a special emphasis on intercultural artistic projects such as the ‘Intercultural Orchestra’ and ‘Co-OPERAtive: an intercultural opera hub for young people’ (winner of the European Fedora Prize for Education, 2019).
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education
2011-16 PhD in Creative Practice (Piano Performance) with the title: 'Recycling Music-Recycling Performance: Exploring the uses of existing music in piano works of Rochberg, Goehr and Sharman'
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London
scholarship from Onassis Foundation
2006-09 MMus in Piano Performance. Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London. Grade: 73.20 (Distinction)
scholarship from Trinity College of Music & Cypriot State Institution & The Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust
2000-05 BMus Hons in Music. University of Macedonia, Greece. Grade: 9.19 (Distinction)
2003-06 Diploma in Piano Performance. Conservatoire of Northern, Greece. Grade: 10 (Excellent)
Piano Teachers Douglas Finch, Yonty Solomon, Milena Mollova
employment
2022-present Expert Evaluator European funding projects (Music and Performing Arts), Goethe-Institut e.V.
2024-present Pianist, Duo Partner // DURATIONS piano & cello duo with Nina Vanhoenacker
Jan 2025 Artistic Associate for the Banff Musicians in Residency programme. Banff Center for Arts & Creativity
Spring 2023 Adjunct Professor at the department of Musicology teaching the class ‘Curating for music and culture’. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
2021-23 Coordinator of Research and Educational Design Learning & Participation Department, Greek National Opera
2018-21 Artistic Coordinator at the Learning & Participation Department of the Greek National Opera
2009-present Pianist, Performer, Curator, Collaborator, Researcher, Workshop Leader, Accompanist
research & publications & recordings
January 2025 Music Residency // Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Canada
January 2024 Music Residency // Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Canada
2023 Publication of article: Karterou, Kerzeli, Sofroniou. ‘Recreating opera: the intercultural artistic workshops of the Learning & Participation Department of the GNO in the landscape of contemporary Athens’ in the collective volume Culture, Arts, Inclusion. Thessaloniki: Sofia Publications, November 2023.
July 2023 Presentation // BAJMT Spotlight Series -International Perspectives on Innovative Music Theatre for Young People organized by the Musik Akademie Rheinsberg.
September 2022 Invited speaker // RESEO conference ‘STILL COMMITTED!’ discussing the project ‘Co-OPERAtive: An intercultural and collaborative opera hub for young people’. Philarmonie de Paris, France
2021 Release of the animated film: ‘The Tales of the Bear: A squirrel that made a forest disappear’ at the GNO TV. Available at the online platform GNO TV from December 2021 to May 2022. Recording at the Alternative Stage at the GNO. Sound Design: Kostas Bokos
2020 Online article in Tandem Europe website with the title ‘Meet Me in the Middle-European solutions to local challenges’ – a collaboration between GNO (Greece), BOZAR (Belgium) and E-DA (Portugal)
2018 Publication of article: 'Tales of a Talking Piano: Performing for childlike adults or adultlike children' on ÍMPAR Online journal for artistic research in music, Vol. 2, Nº 1, 2018 Music for and by children, p. 49-62
February 2018 Music Residency // Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Canada
February 2015 Music Residency // Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Canada
2014 Recording: Tristan, Isolde (2009) by Marc Sabat (version for two pianos returned in Just Intonation). Recorded by Ann-Kristin Sofroniou and Lara Dodds-Eden, piano. Available from PLAINSOUND MUSIC EDITION
2012 Recording: Piquant Pieces, for six-hands piano by Kaja Bjorntvedt. CD recorded by Marcelle Zahra, Ann-Kristin Sofroniou and Stella Parlavantza. Available from Musikk-Husets Forlag