Theodosia Ntokou ( el, Θεοδοσία Ντόκου,

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

) is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Biography

Theodosia Ntokou was born on the island of

to a family of

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

lovers. Her mother, Mary Vergoti is a school teacher, her father, Panagiotis, is the commander of the harbor of

and her younger brother George is a medical doctor. Theodosia began to study

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

at the age of twelve to a small section of the conservatory in Rhodes, and after the director of the conservatory spotted her talent, Theodosia and her mother went on traveling thirty-two hours from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and back every weekend by ship for one hour lesson at the National Conservatory. That went on until Theodosia turned sixteen and moved to Athens. Starting at sixteen Theodosia studied for five years at the National Conservatory with Aris Garufalis, and graduated with honors, and as she has quoted many times he was "The professor who built her character, and told her never to give up". Theodosia then continued her studies with Hungarian pianist Laszlo Simon at the

Universität der Künste The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

in Berlin and simultaneously received her Postgraduate Degree from the Franz Liszt Academy of Budapest. Theodosia moved to America, where she completed her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

with

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

pianist Oxana Yablonskaya and went on to earn her assistantship at the prestigious

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

The Hartt School The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. Theodosia Ntokou has also performed in many festivals across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

such as the prestigious Progetto

Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (; Eastern Catalan: �ɾʒəˈɾik born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and education Argerich was born in Buenos A ...

, the

Ravello Festival The Ravello Festival is also popularly known as the "Wagner Festival" and is an annual summer festival of music and the arts held in the town of Ravello on the Amalfi coast in the Campania region of Italy. The festival has been held yearly since ...

, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the Martha Argerich Festival, the

Crans-Montana Crans-Montana is a municipality in the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. On 1 January 2017 the former municipalities of Chermignon, Mollens, Montana and Randogne merged to form the new municipality of Crans-Montana. ...

"Les Sommets du Classique", the Armonie d'Arte Festival, the Busko Zdrój Festival in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, the Rolandseck Festival in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the Sagra Musicale Malatestiana, the

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

Pianistico

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

e Bergamo and the Carloforte Music Festival in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and has collaborated with many

orchestras An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the

Amsterdam Sinfonietta Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban area ...

, the

Berliner Symphoniker The Berliner Symphoniker (''Berlin Symphony Orchestra'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. History The orchestra began its performing activity on 1 September 1967 as ''Symphonisches Orchester Berlin'', under the auspices of t ...

, the

Athens State Orchestra The Athens State Orchestra () is a Greek symphony orchestra based in Athens, which is consistently ranked in the top handful of orchestras of the country. Principal conductors * Filoktitis Εkonomidis (1942–1957) * Theodoros Vavagiannis ( ...

and the Berliner Camerata, the Youth Orchestra of Bahia among others. Theodosia has been performing extensively in many prestigious halls through

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. An important step in her life was her meeting in 2009 with the legendary

, who after an audition, became her

mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

, inspiration and has led her to new paths in her career. Since then, Theodosia has been under her guidance.

The China Music Series

Theodosia Ntokou has made reality one of her wishes, as in November 2021, she will realize her new annual Classical Music Festival called China Music Series (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 中国南方音乐周) and will take place at the Guangzhou Opera House. As a Founder and Artistic Director of the Series, Theodosia's vision is to welcome at the

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

, top

artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...

who will perform and captivate the audiences. Artists such as

Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (russian: Максим Александрович Венгеров, , mɐkˈsʲim ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ vʲɪnˈɡʲerəf; he, מקסים ונגרוב; born 20 August 1974) is a Russian-born Israeli violinist, ...

Steven Isserlis Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse reper ...

Daniel Hope Daniel Hope (born 17 August 1973, Durban, South Africa) is a European classical violinist. Early life and education Hope was born in Durban, South Africa, and is of Irish and Jewish German descent, his maternal grandparents, formerly from Be ...

and Guy Braunstein among many others, will be gracing the stage with their presence and talent.

Prizes and awards

Theodosia has received the following prizes and awards. * 2006: Young Artists International Piano Competition - Winner * 2007: Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition Winner * 2008: Evelyn Bonnar Scholarship Award * 2021: Opus Klassik Awards / Best Chamber Music Award - Nomination

Discography

* ''2009

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

,'' ''Concerto for piano and orchestra Nr. 3'', Op. 37 in C minor. Acte Préalable * 2020: ''

, Symphony No.6 "Pastorale"'' ''arr. 4 hands by Selmar Bagge'' ''together with

'' ''and the Sonata Op.31 No.2 "Tempest".

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, ...

Reviews

In a review of Argerich's and Ntokou's new

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

album,

Norman Lebrecht Norman Lebrecht (born 11 July 1948) is a British music journalist and author who specializes in classical music. He is best known as the owner of the classical music blog, ''Slipped Disc'', where he frequently publishes articles. Unlike other ...

from

Slipped Disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physic ...

wrote: Is nothing like you've ever heard...The most musical account since...Bruno Walter, maybe and the LA Times mentioned: Refreshes as though the Pastorale were bathed in a crystalline mountain stream The BBC Music Magazine has praised Theodosia as: Dramatically poised, classically aware, emotionally supple, and refreshing

References

External links

Theodosia Ntokou - Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ntokou, Theodosia Women classical pianists Greek women pianists Child classical musicians Living people 21st-century classical pianists Greek classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists Year of birth missing (living people) People from Rhodes 20th-century women pianists 21st-century women pianists

Biography

The China Music Series

Prizes and awards

Discography

Reviews

See also

References

External links