Yorgos Ziavras
Greek-German conductor based in Cologne, Germany. He is the 2026/27 Chief Conductor of Oper Wuppertal and Artistic Director of the TRIETHNÉS International Music Festival.
He studied conducting with Prof. Michael Luig at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, piano in Athens with Elisabeth Kounalaki and in Cologne with Paulo Álvares, as well as architecture at the National Technical University of Athens.
He began his collaboration with Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach in 2014 as a member of the renowned Opernstudio Niederrhein. Within five years, he rose to the position of Deputy Principal Conductor. He is the founder of CoGNiMUS Collektiv and is also active in the contemporary music scene. In 2019, he co-founded the ÉRMA Ensemble with fellow specialists in contemporary music. Since the 2017/18 season, he has been a guest conductor at the Greek National Opera.
He has also conducted numerous symphony orchestras and ensembles in Greece and Germany, including the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Ensemble Musikfabrik, the Greek National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, the City of Athens Symphony Orchestra, ERGON Ensemble, TETTTIX, and others.
In 2020/21, he received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 2023, he and the ÉRMA Ensemble have held a scholarship from InSzene – Podium Gegenwart of the Deutscher Musikrat. During his tenure at Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach, he received the 2020 Förderpreis for artistic excellence from the Freunde der Musik association.
Jay Raissis
Jay began his career in media as a sailing editor before moving into photojournalism and political reporting. His work has appeared in prominent international and Greek outlets, including “The Guardian”, Bloomberg, “Ta Nea”, and Radio France. He has contributed reporting to “Documento” and MoneyReview.gr, maintained a personal column for neolaia.gr, worked with the Athens bureau of The Associated Press, and authored a personal blog that has been cited by major Greek media.
He has also worked as a media consultant for non-governmental organisations, including Fridays for Future and the Scouts of Greece.
Since 2022, he has specialised in public relations and production management within the performing arts, with a particular focus on classical music, opera, and cinema. He is the founder of a boutique communications and artist-management agency operating between Athens and Cologne, representing a roster of internationally acclaimed artists, ensembles, and productions.
He has collaborated closely with the Greek National Opera on projects including “MOIROLÓI” (2024) and “All of Greece, One Culture” (2024), and has worked with the Olympia Municipal Music Theatre “Maria Callas” as a Communications Advisor and Production Associate. He also serves as Public and Sponsor Relations Coordinator and Associate to the Artistic Director of CoGNiMUS, a Cologne-based music collective.
In 2024, together with acclaimed conductor Yorgos Ziavras, he co-founded the TRIETHNÉS International Music Festival, where he serves as Executive Director and Head of Production. In this role, he oversees the festival’s strategic planning, public relations, fundraising, partnerships, and production management.
Jay holds a BA in Communication and Public Relations and is currently pursuing a MA degree in Arts Leadership and Fundraising at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Stamatis Pasopoulos
Born in 1986 in Serres (Greece), he began his musical studies with accordion and Byzantine music, while the strong influence of his region’s musical traditions led him to explore various traditional instruments and dance.
He studied at the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia, majoring in composition under Ilias Papadopoulos and classical accordion under Konstantinos Rapti. He continued his postgraduate studies at Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam, specializing in contemporary composition with Robin de Raaff (acoustic composition) and René Uijlenhoet (electronic composition). During this period, he began his research on ways of bridging Greek musical tradition and contemporary art, decoding common structural and functional elements between these seemingly opposite musical worlds — a synthesis that defines his compositional work. Improvisation, both acoustic and electronic, also plays a key role in his artistic identity as both composer and performer.
He teaches composition at the Department of Music Science and Art, University of Macedonia, within the specialization Poetics of the Greek Traditional (Folk) Music program. Since the 2020–21 academic year, he has been pursuing a Ph.D. at the same department, supported by the Foundation for Education and European Culture.
Active both as a composer and performer, he moves between traditional and contemporary music. He is a member and artistic director of the contemporary music ensemble TETTTIX, part of the free improvisation trio handful of windows, and a core organizer of the Thessaloniki International Accordion Festival “REEDBLOCKS.”
As a composer, he has collaborated with major institutions such as the Onassis Stegi Foundation, the Greek National Opera, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, and the Ministry of Culture as part of the national program “All of Greece, One Culture” (2021, 2022, 2023). His distinctions include the 1st Prize at the G.A. Papaioannou International Composition Competition (2016) and 1st Prizes at the National Accordion Competitions (2007, 2009, 2012).
He is currently participating in “Mélisma”, an annual program of artistic and educational workshops in Northern Evia, organized by the Educational and Social Activities Department of the Greek National Opera.
Sofia Zouzeli
Born in Florina in 1970, she studied Journalism at the Center for Liberal Philosophical and Social Studies in Thessaloniki, from which she graduated in 1991. She has attended journalism seminars across Europe, including the Baltic and European Media Centers.
Since 1988, she has been active in cultural reporting, writing for Exostis magazine in Thessaloniki and completing an internship at the Avriani newspaper of Northern Greece. From 1991 to 1995, she worked in radio and television in Heraklion, Crete.
In 1996, she joined ERT Florina, where she served for many years as chief editor of the local radio station and worked as a radio producer. She coordinated regional radio stations (Florina, Korçë, Bitola) within the framework of ERT’s collaborations with public broadcasters in Albania and North Macedonia, and participated in cross-border seminars and meetings in the Balkans and Brussels.
In 2016, she received the European URTI Radio Documentary Award for her work on refugee issues. She has also worked as a correspondent for ERT TV in Kastoria and Prespa, covering events in neighboring countries.
She currently serves as Head of the Press Office for the Municipality of Prespa.
Since 2000, she has been living in Prespa, where she works on cross-border programs with the NGO “Prespa Cultural Triangle”, coordinating joint initiatives with Albania and North Macedonia.
Nalia Zikou
Nalia Zikou works in the Production Department of the Greek National Opera, focusing on the development, production, and execution of the Alternative Stage’s program.
She is a distinction graduate of the Department of Theatre Studies at the School of Fine Arts, University of the Peloponnese, and of the “Archi” Drama School of Nelli Karra. She completed her internship at the Greek Film Centre and has participated in three European continuing education programs in Ireland, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
She has extensive experience in theatre and film production management, having worked as an assistant director (at the Theatre of the New World and the Athens & Epidaurus Festival) and in production direction and management for Creative Europe cultural programs, involving theatre, music, and multimedia projection activities across the Balkans (Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Greece).
She also works on the production of short audiovisual projects for promotion and performance purposes (ERT, All of Greece, One Culture, and independent productions). Additionally, she is active in the creation of podcasts featuring original narration, sound design, and music composition, which have been presented at festivals in Greece and have received distinctions, including an honourable mention at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.
Aris Papadopoulos
Aris Papadopoulos studied Law at the University of Athens and holds an MBA from Manchester Business School. He worked in Banking for 28 years, holding senior positions in Corporate & Investment Banking, Project Finance and corporate restructuring.
Since 2019, he has been working as a financial and business consultant to private-sector clients. Alongside his professional career, he has been actively involved in voluntary and non-profit initiatives in the fields of culture and education.
For 14 consecutive years, he served as an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Athens College Alumni Association, eventually serving as President of its Board of Directors.
His involvement with music began during his school years with Classical music (piano) and later expanded to Rock and Greek music (guitar, bass, drums). As an amateur musician, he has formed and organised various musical groups and events.
In 2026, he assumed the role of Legal Representative and Financial Director of “TRIETHNÉS FESTIVAL”, the non-profit organisation responsible for developing and organising an annual music festival in Prespes, a unique cross-border region shared by Greece, Albania and North Macedonia, bringing contemporary classical music into dialogue with local musical traditions.