Click to Enlarge
Chief Conductor Vassilis Christopoulos was decorated by the French State with the insignia of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l' ordre des arts et des lettres) for his work and contribution to the Arts, and in particular for his role in strengthening the cultural relations between Greece and France. The presentation of the insignia was held as is customary at the French Residence in Athens on September 18th.
The 38-year-old scholar has been Artistic Director of the Athens State Orchestra since 2011, and Chief Conductor of the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra of Constance since 2005. Vassilis Christopoulos was born in Munich. He studied oboe and music theory at the Athens Conservatory, and was an oboist with the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra (1993–1995), before going on to study orchestral conducting at Munich Music Academy on the “Alexandra Trianti” scholarship and a scholarship from the Onassis Foundation. In 1999, he was honoured by the Greek Music and Drama Critics’ Association, while in 2000 he won First Prize at the Bad Homburg Conducting Competition and has also received awards in the "Dimitris Mitropoulos" International Conducting Competition. Throughout his career, Vassilis Christopoulos has conducted numerous orchestras (the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Hannover, Bremen and Duisburg radio orchestras, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Hamburg and Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestras, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra etc.) and has also collaborated with all major Greek orchestras. His discography includes concerts by Nikos Skalkotas with the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra (BIS, 2008), while his CD "Mozart Arias" featuring French Soprano Géraldine Casey and the Southwest German Philharmonic was awarded the prize by the Académie Internationale du Disque Lyrique in Paris for the best Mozart recording in 2009.
