The Academy
The Piano Academy started in 2013 after an invitation from the Regional President and the Mayor of Archanes to create a summer program for students of all ages. The Academy relocates this year in Athens and it will be hosted at the Musical Horizons Conservatory, one of the leading music conservatories in the country.
The academy includes a two-week intensive program for piano students and music lovers of all ages and levels and is open to students of all countries. The program offers daily masterclasses, private lessons, lectures, guest workshops and recitals.
Our goal is to provide a high level of musical guidance to developing musicians, create new opportunities internationally for talented artists, and to engage the community through a strong cultural exchange.
The GREEK COMPOSER PROJECT provides the Academy students the opportunity to learn and perform piano works by Greek composers, some written especially for the Academy. In 2014 Yiorgos Vassilandonakis (composer and Professor of Music Theory/Composition at College of Charleston) wrote a piano work especially for the Academy which was premiered by Eleni Kamaratou. In 2022 the Academy celebrated composer and musicologist Manos Panayiotakis.
The festival organizes visits to museums and historical sited where students get the opportunity to be exposed to the fascinating history and traditions of Crete.
ABOUT ARCHANES
The traditional village of ARCHANES is located approximately 15 kilometers southeast of Heraklion, Crete, and is one of the most important archeological sites with 5,000 years of history. It was inhabited from Neolithic to Minoan and Byzantine times to present.
Archanes has been described as an “authentic village model” and has received First Prize for “Best long-term Development Project” in October 2000 and for «Total and sustainable development of excellent quality”, in a competition organized by the EEC and the International Union RED (Ruralite Environment Development).
A settlement which respects its cultural heritage, Archanes enables visitors to admire the traditional architecture, the Byzantine churches, and the Minoan and Byzantine civilization and to taste the authentic Cretan cuisine and the prime Cretan wines. Archanes also considered as one of the most important vineyards of Crete.
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