Eleni Papakyriakou

Eleni Papakyriakou comes from Thessaloniki, Greece. Her studies in orchestra conducting were completed in 2015 at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (Mag. art.). She is the chief conductor of the Passau University Orchestra (2016-2019 and again since 2022). She worked at the Landestheater Niederbayern for 7 years, conducting opera performances.

Most recently, Eleni Papakyriakou founded her own symphony orchestra, Sinfonietta Passau, which celebrated its first concerts in March/April 2023 with great success. She was honoured with the Tokyo Foundation's SYLFF Leadership Initiatives Award in 2024.

Her participation in the international competition “La Maestra Paris” (2020) led to a concert with Orchestre Pasdeloup at the Philharmonie de Paris (Grand Hall Pierre Boulez) in December 2021. As a guest conductor, she has also collaborated with the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Music Academy "Louis Spohr" Kassel and the Akademischer Orchesterverein Wien.

"As the music and artistic director of Sinfonietta Passau, I am very much looking forward to presenting great masterpieces at a high level. My claim: music that inspires, speaks directly to the heart and unfolds new dimensions."