Yiannis Romanos

Yiannis Romanos is a viola teacher at the Hellenic American Educational Foundation-College of Athens and served as the co-principal violist of the National Symphony Orchestra of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) until 2023.

He began studying violin at the age of six at the Athens Conservatory under Tatsis Apostolidis and later transitioned to viola, studying with Marivita Grammatikaki. At 21, he entered the Hochschule für Musik Köln, where he studied under Professor Werner Dickel, graduating in 2010.

In 2011, he pursued studies in Educational Psychology at the University of Athens and attended viola seminars with Bernard Oll, Danusha Waskiewicz, and Yuval Gotlibovitch. Yiannis has participated in festivals such as the Mani-Sonnenlink Music Festival, the Porto Heli Music Festival, and the International Cycladic Classical Music Festival in Syros.

During his time in Germany, he performed with the Corium Orchestra Münster. Upon returning to Greece, he collaborated with the National Opera and the Camerata Orchestra of Athens. He has worked with renowned conductors and artists, including Riccardo Muti, José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Vasso Karagianni, Michel Plasson, Eleni Karaindrou, and Dimitris Papadimitriou.

Yiannis has performed in notable productions such as Dante’s Divine Comedy at the Onassis Foundation, with performances in Greece and France. Additionally, he has contributed to recordings for the National Theatre, including the production of Tonight We Improvise, and has recorded solo viola works for the Greek Radio. He has also performed as a soloist with the Contemporary Music Orchestra of the Greek Radio (ERT).

In 2014, Yiannis founded the International String and Piano Seminar “Zante Music Masterclass” in collaboration with German music teachers and the Youth Orchestra “Freiburg-Zakynthos Orchester Union.” Since 2018, he has worked with the Hellenic Cancer Society, creating the “Dorella” program, which focuses on music composition and creation for children and adolescents with cancer. This initiative earned him an award from the Hellenic Cancer Society and was implemented at the guesthouse of the “Floga” Association and “Elpida Children’s Hospital – Agia Sophia.” The program was featured on National Television in a segment titled +People by journalist Yiannis Darras. In 2023, the children’s musical compositions were recorded by the ERT Music Ensembles, resulting in a published CD in collaboration with the Hellenic Cancer Society.

In 2022, Yiannis collaborated with pianist Dionysis Malouchos to release a CD titled Manifestations of Love, featuring works by Dimitris Minakakis inspired by Giorgos Mastrogiannopoulos’s poetry cycles Cracks and Wasted Sunsets. The recording was produced by Vangelis Sapounas at Subway Studio and released by Subways Music.

Currently, Yiannis is pursuing a postgraduate degree in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the European University of Cyprus.

Source: Yiannis Romanos