orchestra conductor
"a highly talented conductor, with a clear view of the music and a fine sense of style"
"clear and focused conducting, aesthetic and far from any show"
"technical sovereignty and musical sensitivity"
"thanderous applause and standing ovations"
Biography
Eleni Papakyriakou comes from Thessaloniki, Greece. She completed her studies in orchestra conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (Mag. art.) in 2015.
As founder and chief conductor of Sinfonietta Passau (since 2023), Eleni Papakyriakou established her own symphony orchestra, which can already look back on four highly successful concert series. She was awarded the "SYLFF Leadership Initiatives Award" by the Tokyo Foundation in 2024.
After successful guest conducting engagements at the "Louis Spohr" Music Academy in Kassel, Eleni Papakyriakou was appointed director of the academy orchestra in 2025. She was also engaged as a lecturer for instrumental ensemble conducting.
She is also chief conductor and artistic director of the Passau University Orchestra (2016–2019 and again since 2022) and worked for seven years at the Landestheater Niederbayern, where she conducted performances.
Her participation in the international competition "La Maestra Paris" led to a concert with the Orchestre Pasdeloup at the Philharmonie de Paris (Grand Hall Pierre Boulez) in 2021. She has also collaborated as a guest conductor with the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Academic Orchestra Association.
Agenda
23.06.26 Kassel
Andres Gonzalez: "Paolo e Francesca" (World Premiere), D. Milhaud: Concerto for Percussion and Small Orchestra, op. 109 - Soloist: Maximos Soukeras, F. Schubert: Symphony No. 5
Symphony Orchestra of the Kassel Music Academy "Louis Spohr"
10.07.26 Viechtach / 12.07.26 Passau
R. Vaughan-Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves, G. Holst: St. Paul´s Suite, J. Rutter: Magnificat
Passau University Orchestra
Press
Conductor Eleni Papakyriakou and the strings of the “Sinfonietta Passau” performed with great sensitivity and at a high standard, rendering transitions and ritardandos convincingly and bringing the various characters of the movements vividly to life. [O. Respighi “Antiche danze ed arie, Suite No. 3”]
In Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo” Variations for cello and chamber orchestra, too, the “Sinfonietta” under Papakyriakou demonstrated an excellent eye for detail – for instance in the horn solo of the introduction, the lively dialogues between the woodwinds and the solo part, and the subtly executed accompanying passages.
Under the precise, pulsating baton of conductor Eleni Papakyriakou, [Philipp Ortmeier’s Symphony No. 1] ‘Nostalgia’ is brought to life. The founder guides her orchestra through the score with a sure sense of tempo and brings out the various timbres.
A moving silence fell over the room until a great cheer erupted in the packed church. Three years ago, Papakyriakou had founded this orchestra with courage and energy. The effort has paid off. The “Sinfonietta” has found its place in Passau and the surrounding region and continues to surprise audiences with exceptional concert series of the very highest standard.
Heidi Kristl & Carola Baumann-Moritz, Passauer Neue Presse / Dr. Bernhard Stoffels, Straubinger Tagblatt
April-May 2026