On Saturday 27/01/2024, the live piano auditions for the €2000 Scholarship of Yamaha Music Europe Foundation (YMEF) took place at the Philippos Nakas Concert Hall.
The scholarship was shared between two exceptionally gifted young piano students: 15-year-old Daniil Kolanian, student of Alexandra Papastefanou at the Kodály Conservatory, and 14-year-old Phaedon Sahsamanoglou, student at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki in the class of Vassilis Varvaresos.
The level was admittedly very high, as the students who had been selected for the final phase of the competition gave amazing performances, and all of them have exactly those qualities that will ensure them a brilliant career in the piano artistic arena.
The jury was formed by soloists and professors Agathi Leimoni, Evi Marinaki, Kostas Hardas, Leto Thomou. President was Dionysis Mallouchos, artistic director of the Philippos Nakas Conservatory.
The exclusive aim of the Yamaha Music Europe Foundation is to support new talents with the YMEF scholarship program. Since 1990, the Foundation has awarded scholarships to more than 1,000 musicians in 33 European countries.
Congratulations to the winners and to all the contestants who proved the high level of music studies in our country! We thank them from the bottom of our hearts.