Profile

Praised by the international press as “one of the most promising stars of tomorrow”, Greek conductor Dionysis Grammenos made his debut at the age of twenty-one with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. He received a Conducting Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival in 2016, where he conducted several orchestral and opera programmes including Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito. Following this, he was invited by Johannes Debus, Music Director of the Canadian Opera Company to work with him on Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Toronto in 2018.

Supported by conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Christoph Eschenbach, Robert Spano and Patrick Summers, he has already conducted orchestras such as the Festival Strings Lucerne, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Hofer Symphoniker, Junge Philharmonie Wien, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Malta Philharmonic, and the New Symphony Orchestra of Sofia. He has recently made his opera debut in Würzburg with Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, whilst upcoming dates include the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme of Wagner, Schumann and Brahms/Schönberg.

Dionysis Grammenos is the Founder and Music Director of the Greek Youth Symphony Orchestra. Established just this year and in cooperation with the Greek National Opera, the orchestra receives sponsorship from the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation. The 2017/18 season will see them present four concerts at the Great Hall of the Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, home of the Greek National Opera.

Moreover, this season Dionysis launched the ‘Sound Lake’ series in Athens. For the inaugural concert he conducted the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra joined by pianist Anna Fedorova. Dioysis Grammenos was selected for the European Young Leaders 2018 programme organized by Friends of Europe- under the patronage of Jean-Claude Juncker. The programme is an inventive and multi-stakeholder programme that aims to promote a European identity by engaging the continent’s most promising talents in initiatives that will shape Europe’s future.

Dionysis Grammenos studied orchestral conducting at the Würzburg Music University under Ari Rasilainen, and graduated in 2016. He initially trained as a clarinettist at the University of Music “Franz Liszt” in Weimar and was the first ever wind player to win the Grand Prix d’Eurovision from the European Broadcasting Union and was chosen “European Young Musician of the Year” by the same organisation.

In 2013/14 he was selected for the ECHO Rising Stars programme, which took him to some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Kölner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Vienna, Cité de la Musique in Paris and the Barbican Centre in London. He has also performed at Carnegie Hall and the Berliner Philharmonie. As a soloist, he has worked with orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra, ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Dionysis’ debut CD with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Ari Rasilainen was released by Naïve featuring works by Spohr, Nielsen and Debussy. He subsequently made a recording with transcriptions by Schumann and Schubert for Warner Classics in collaboration with the harpist Anneleen Lenaerts. He has been honoured with the Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts and the Gold Medal of the City of Athens.