From 9 to 12 June, the annual conference of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO) took place this year in Athens, and for the first time in Greece.
The conference was hosted in our country by the Greek Youth Symphony Orchestra (GYSO), a member of the Federation EFNYO, and was held at the premises of the Music Library “Lilian Voudouri”, at Megaron-the Athens Concert Hall, where the GYSO has been Orchestra in Residence since 2020.
At this year’s meeting, the Federation upgraded by unanimous decision of the General Assembly the status of the GYSO from associate member to full member with full voting rights, representing our country in this European institution. A proposal was also made to the GYSO’s Founder & Artistic Director, Dionysis Grammenos, to become a member of the EFNYO executive board, which he accepted with great pleasure.
In the context of the conference, reference was made, among other things, to the significant progress and development of the Greek Youth Symphony Orchestra during its five years of trajectory. The President of the Federation and President of the Wiener Jeneuss Orchester, Ms Renate Böck, referred to the close ties that link the GYSO with the other National Youth Orchestras of Europe. She also congratulated Mr. Dionysis Grammenos for the initiative of founding the orchestra and his work over the years to establish the presence of the GYSO at European level, thus giving young Greek musicians the opportunity to present their work internationally.
For his part, the conductor Dionysis Grammenos thanked the members of the Federation for the recognition of the orchestra’s work and for their very honorary proposal to participate in the board of the organisation, which formulates its strategy and shapes the framework of partnership between the National Youth Orchestras of Europe.
He briefly mentioned important moments of the orchestra during these five years, such as its recent concert at the Greek Parliament, in the framework of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament of CoE member states, at the invitation of the President of the Parliament Mr. Konstantinos Tassoulas, the performance of the GYSO at the Young Euro Classic international festival in Berlin, which took place under the auspices of HE the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, as well as the installation of the GYSO as Orchestra in Residence at Megaron – the Athens Concert Hall and its support by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The invited speakers of the conference were Mrs. Eva Lianou, General Director of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation and Mr. Yannis Vakarelis, Artistic Director of Megaron – the Athens Concert Hall, who referred to the importance of supporting young artists in Greece and the opportunities for orchestral training at a high level that the GYSO provides to its members, who are selected after auditions.
It is noted that during the conference EFNYO members welcomed with pleasure two new full members, the “National Youth Orchestra of Ukraine” and the “National Youth Orchestra of Slovenia”, both dedicated to supporting mutual cooperation in times of current crisis and enthusiastic supporters of young talent in their countries and beyond.
It is worth noting here the participation of the GYSO in the MusXchange Programme, which is co-funded by the European Commission and which offers young talented musicians across Europe opportunities to develop their musical, intercultural, communication and business skills.
Through the GYSO’s participation in EFNYO, the programme will continue to support young Greek musicians to train, perform and share experiences with their colleagues across Europe.
