A new, forward-looking music festival arrives this August in the Prespa region. From 28 to 31 August, Prespa moves to the rhythms of contemporary music, carefully interwoven with traditional sounds from the tri-border area. Artistic Director of the festival is the internationally acclaimed conductor Yorgos Ziavras.
The TRIETHNÉS Festival aims to reshape the cultural identity of the region and bring together the sounds of the Balkans. This August, Prespa will not only be a place of outstanding natural beauty and historical importance, but also the center of a major cultural event with an international outlook. From 28 to 31 August 2025, a new music festival is launched in the cross-border area of Prespa, opening a meaningful dialogue between contemporary musical creation and the rich traditional music of the Balkans.
The TRIETHNÉS International Music Festival aspires to become a reference point for music and culture in the wider region. Set in the symbolic and geographically unique landscape of the tri-border area of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia, the festival seeks to promote artistic openness, intercultural exchange, and a living connection between local traditions and contemporary musical forms.
Artistic Director Yorgos Ziavras notes:
“The TRIETHNÉS Festival addresses an important gap and aims to take root in the broader Prespa region. Our goal is to highlight contemporary musical voices from Greece and Europe, while bringing them together with the deep musical traditions of the Balkans, a shared, multicultural tradition that continues to evolve.”
The festival will present works by contemporary Greek and European composers, created especially for the event or inspired by themes of memory and the reuse of existing material to create something new. Balkan traditional music is woven into dialogue with contemporary music from the wider Western world.
Alongside the main artistic program, the festival launches this year a new strategic initiative titled TRIETHNÉS+, a set of educational activities and community-based collaborations aimed at strengthening music education and participation.
At the core of TRIETHNÉS+ is the PRESPENSIS New Music Creation Academy, an ambitious educational program developed in collaboration with the University of Macedonia, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and the Music Schools of Kastoria and Ptolemaida. Five composition students take part in the academy and are commissioned to create new contemporary works specifically for the festival.
These works will be presented as part of the TRIETHNÉS artistic program by student soloists and pupils from the participating music schools and universities, in a large open concert.
The PRESPENSIS program is a key pillar of the festival’s vision for openness, support of contemporary music creation, and encouragement of emerging musicians.
The full program, participating artists, and venues will be announced on 20 July 2025.
Learn more about the festival at www.triethnesfest.eu
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