B I O G R A P H Y
Yiannis Hadjiloizou was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. He is the Founder, President, Music & Artistic Director of the Athens Philharmonic. He took his first Piano lessons with his father Michael - composer of the first Cypriot Opera Eleftheria. He graduated from the Cyprus Academy of Music and the studio of its founder, Ms Despo Frangakou-Hadjiloizou (synonymy), with a Professional Diploma in Piano Performance & Pedagogy and another in Harmony.
After a ten year stay in the United States of America he returned to Cyprus having pursued a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, a Master of Music in Piano Performance, and an M.M. in Combined Choral and Orchestral Conducting from the American Conservatory of Music, a B.M. in Theory and M.M. in Musicology from Roosevelt University, an M.M. in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Oklahoma, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from Boston University.
His primary mentor has been his father, Michael, and also include Greek-Romanian Composer and Pianist Nicolaos Astrinidis, American Pianist, Composer, and Educator Michael Ruiz, and Greek Composer and Conductor Theodore Antoniou. Yiannis' relationship with Antoniou was a close one, lasting until the passing of the latter in 2018. Antoniou had introduced Yiannis to American composer Gunther Schuller and German-American composer Lukas Foss.
During his childhood and early years, he performed as Conductor and/or Pianist throughout Europe, Middle East, China, South Africa, Canada, Russia, USA, touring with the Nicosia Music Society, and further received special praise for his 2005 debut with contemporary ensemble ALEAIII and the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008.
He has performed as Pianist for all Presidents of the Republic of Cyprus at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, since his birth. In 2012 he was honoured as Representative Artist of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union with concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Adelaide, Australia.
As a Composer, his Music has been performed worldwide in such venues as Vienna’s Musikverein, and has been awarded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus, Festival de Cannes, and Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. In 2007, he received a commission by the then Laiki Bank to compose his Le Valse de l’ Amour, which replaced Carl Orff’s O Fortuna as soundtrack of the Radiomarathon, and received its world premier by the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra during the monumental Cyprus Peace Concert 1 at the Terminal of the Nicosia International Airport, celebrating
International Day of Peace on September 16, 2010. The year before, he was commissioned to compose the Music for the opening of the New Larnaca Airport. His latest commission comes from English outdoor spectacles company Walk The Plank and Pafos 2017 European Capital of Culture for the city's main summer event Eternal Voyages at the Pafos Castle. Other commissions include Music for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the United Nations, Zypriotische Kulturzentrum Wien, and the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra.
His 2012 live recording of Mozart’s Requiem has been included as soundtrack for the 2015 feature film Bereave. He is the only Artist to have performed at all of Cyprus’ most prestigious venues - Kourion Ancient Amphitheatre, Pafos Ancient Odeon, Pafos Medieval Castle, Larnaca Castle, Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Queen Victoria Gardens, Ayia Napa Square, Rialto Theatre Limassol, Pallas Theatre Nicosia, American Embassy, European Commission, Cyprus Archbishopric, Anassa Hotel, Presidential Palace, etc - and has been featured at Pafos 2017 European Capital of Culture as Conductor Pianist and Composer on numerous occasions, including the post of Composer & Music Director for Eternal Voyages - Summer Highlight and Artistic Director for the Official Handover Ceremony of the Title of the European Capital of Culture conducting Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.
He founded the Chicago Conservatory Camerata (1999), Norman Civic Orchestra (Oklahoma, 2002), Boston Chance Orchestra & Chorus (2006), and Cyprus National Opera (2008), the Cyprus Philharmonic Orchestra (2008), and the Athens Philharmonic (2018). He held the post of Classical Music Producer for the 1st Channel of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation for eight years, and has served as Lecturer of Music at European University Cyprus, Guest Lecturer at Berklee College of Music and Vienna Konservatorium, Associate Conductor at Oklahoma University, and Assistant Conductor at Boston Opera Institute.
Yiannis Hadjiloizou is Artistic & Music Director of the Athens Philharmonic, a role he also keeps at the Cyprus Philharmonic Orchestra, while he has also been long a Guest Conductor with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. He was appointed Manager & Artistic Director of the Orphean Singers Cyprus in 2012. He is also the President & Artistic Director of the Cyprus Academy of Music (Established 1956) since 1999. In 2014 Yiannis Hadjiloizou hosted the first edition of the Cyprus Academy of Music Summer School & Festival in the mountain resort of Agros, Cyprus, collaborating with such Artists as Israeli Contemporary Dancer and Choreographer Ohad Naharin and the Batsheva Company / Gaga Movement, Ana Presta of Semperoper Dresden, Lambros Lambrou of the Limassol Municipal Dance Centre, and Jazz Saxophonist Chris Byars of the US State Department's Jazz Futures program.
He is the founder of the Hadjiloizou Benevolent Foundation for the Arts Culture & Peace, through which he has established and maintained close bonds of collaboration through non-profit projects with such organisations as the United Nations, UNICEF, the European Commission, the Cyprus Presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, the US Department of State, Red Cross, Rotary International, the A.G. Leventis Foundation, the George Paraskevaides Residence, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Vatican, Ambassadors and High Commissioners, Mayors, renowned personalities of the Arts, Letters, Business, and Philanthropy.
A unique visionary, Yiannis is also the creator and manager of Academy 32 - Music Wine Art since 2010, a wine bar and platform for cultural exchange through Music, Visual Arts, and Wine for which he has secured funding from both state and private sectors, where he exhibits the Music, Art, and Wine of dozens of countries through his close relations with Foreign Embassies. His long experience and expertise, professional and methodical attitude, excellent communication and interpersonal skills both written and verbal, and his ability to multitask and organise, create momentum and attract funds, as well as foresee and deliver under pressure have made him a favourite amongst elite circles.
Yiannis Hadjiloizou is the only Cypriot Conductor to have been honoured with an invitation to direct the Oster Sontag Nacht Konzert at Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral on April 5, 2015, which followed a special performance at Église de la Madeleine in Paris and another at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia n 2016. He has also been honourably invited to represent Cyprus both as conductor and composer at Filarmonica Oltenia Craiova’s Europa Season 2015, and in 2016 he was honoured as Ambassador of Red Cross Cyprus. On July 1, 2017 he led the 60th Anniversary Concert of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (PIK), conducting the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and Guest Star Eleftheria Arvanitaki. Maestro Hadjiloizou had his Carnegie Hall debut conducting Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.2 "Resurrection" on October 10, 2019, receiving triumphant reviews from the New York press. In December 2021 he received an honorary invitation from The Vatican to conduct Handel's Messiah during the official welcome of Pope Francis at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, which was broadcasted live worldwide.
He has produced numerous Artistic and Cultural events, such as the Opening Ceremony of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union at Nicosia’s Municipal Palace, the Cyprus Peace Concert at the abandoned Nicosia International Airport, the first complete performance of an Opera by a Cypriot Composer staged by Cypriot Artists at Nicosia Municipal Theatre, the opening of the new Larnaca International Airport, the Nicosia Music Festival, and other special projects in 5 Continents.