Martha Sotiriou
Dionysis Pantis
Martha Sotiriou
Mezzo-soprano
Martha Sotiriou was born in Athens, Greece in June. She started her music studies at the age of 8 (guitar and theory of music). She received her singing diploma at the Athenaeum “Maria Callas” Conservatory in Athens with distinction, first prize and Golden Metal Special Prize (class of Christina Giannakopoulou) and her master's degree in opera at the Academy of Music “Carl Maria von Weber” Dresden (class of KS Prof. Matthias Henneberg), where she also attended the Lied duo class of KS Olaf Bär.
She has already performed Hansel in E. Humperdinck's opera "Hansel and Gretel", "The Fox" in L. Janacek's "The Cunning Little Fox" (Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Kleines Haus), Annio in WA Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito" ( concert performance, Athens Concert Hall), the Third Lady in “The Magic Flute” (Ettlingen Castle Festival), as well as the alto part in Handel's “Messiah” sung with the Athens City Orchestra and Choir. For a short time she was an extra choir member of the Greek National Opera and in 2018/2019 she was the 2nd alto of the Semperoper Dresden State Opera Choir. She gained stage experience with directors such as Barbara Beyer, Solvejg Bauer and Franziska Severin and took part in Franco Fagioli's “Rossini” album (Deutsche Grammophon) during her first professional engagements with a small vocal ensemble.
In the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons she was seen in the role of the psychiatrist in "Greetings from Muskau", a new comedy / musical work by Berlin director Geertje Boeden, in the Görlitz Theater. Further engagements in 2019/2020 were the world premiere of the new opera “Frikadela” by the Greek composer Alkis Baltas (the successful production sold over 50,000 tickets) and the New Year's Eve opera gala with the Athens City Orchestra. In 2021/2022 she will make her debut at Theater Kiel Opernhaus as Princess Nicolette in S. Prokofiev's "Die Liebe zu den Drei Orangen".
She took part in opera masterclasses given by Siegfried Jerusalem, Cheryl Studer, Christiane Iven, Aris Argiris, Dimitri Kavrakos, bel canto experts Peter Berne and Daphne Evangelatos, as well as numerous concerts as a soloist, with piano and orchestral accompaniment.
She is the winner of the 2020 International Singing Competition of the Rheinsberg Castle Chamber Opera and has been invited to sing in various recital and orchestral concerts (with the Junge Kammerphilarmonie Berlin) in the Rheinsberg Castle Theater. Thanks to her excellent performance at the competition, she received a full scholarship from the 12th Lotte Lehmann Summer Academy.
Dionysis Pantis
Conductor, pianist
Dionysios Pantis was born in Thessaloniki. In 2006 he was admitted to the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki and in 2014 he graduated with honors. He received second prize and a special prize for excellent interpretation (in Annie Chatzissymeonidou's class).
In 2010 he began his studies in the music department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and also became a member of the "Mixed Choir of Thessaloniki".
He attended classes with Victor Merzhanov and seminars with George Thymis, Charalambos Angelopoulos, etc.
He was awarded first prize in the CH.ON music competition (2009) and came second in the “Philonas” music competition (2011). From 2012 to 2015 he attended orchestral conducting lessons with Vladimir Symeonidis and in 2015 he conducted courses and accompaniment with Jean Christophe Charron.
In 2018 he was selected after a hearing and gave piano recitals in the alternative scene Stavros Niarchos Foundation (Athens) as part of the 2018 Piano Festival.
Since 2016 he has been studying orchestral conducting with Georg Christoph Sandmann at the "Carl Maria von Weber" University of Music in Dresden. During his studies he conducted orchestras such as the Staatskapelle Dresden, Sinfonietta Dresden, Elbland Philharmonie Sachsen, Εrzgebirgische Philharmonie, Philharmonisches Orchestra Plauen Zwickau, Robert Schumann Philharmonie Chemnitz and the North Bohemian Philharmonic Teplice at rehearsals and concerts.
In April 2019 he conducted the Orchestra of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki in the final concert of the 4th Pan-Hellenic Piano Competition in the Concert Hall of Thessaloniki. In September 2019 Prof. Ekkehard Klemm assisted and conducted the musical “November in the Blues” by Karsten Gundermann.
In November 2020, the world premiere of the piece by Jadwiga Frej conducted “As long as it blows outside” with Sinfonietta Dresden.
Since May 2019 he has been leading the wind ensemble of the State Theater of Saxony.
In March 2021 he took part in the master class of the famous conductor Christian Thielemann with the Staatskapelle Dresden at the Semperoper Dresden.
