A Cypriot composer born April 24, 1981.
Christina Athinodorou began her music studies with the piano, in Cyprus. She continued her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she studied composition with Julian Philips and conducting with Alan Hazeldine. She subsequently furthered her composition studies with Philippe Leroux in Paris. In 2011 she obtained a doctorate at the Royal Holloway University of London.
Athinodorou’s musical language is based on contemporary approaches to the regulation of movement, tone-colour, extended techniques as well as on elements linked to Mediterranean and Hellenic traditions, notably the theatre, prosody and microtonality. She draws her inspiration from literature, art and the experiences of everyday life, yet also from the sea, a source of sound and poetic material. She has written for various formations, from solo instrument to orchestra, as well as for the voice. Works include Olkas for octet, first performed at the ISCM World New Music Days in Vienna by the Ensemble Reconsil, directed by Roland Freisitzer (2011); Aigaio in memoriam Ilias Venezis for 12 cellos, first performed by the ensemble Nomos at the Théâtre Dunois in Paris (2012); Flut(t)eRings for flute, premiered by Richard Craig at the Sound Festival of Aberdeen in Scotland (2013); Votrys for symphony orchestra, first performed by the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich conducted by Christina Athinodorou at the Grafenegg Festival in Austria (2014); Sphinx Umgekehrt for an ensemble of six singers, first performed by the Neue Vocalsoloistin Stuttgart in Athens (2016); Anchor for wind band, first performed by the Christopher Newport University Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band of Strovolos Municipality-European University Cyprus conducted by Mark Reimer in Cyprus (2018).
In parallel to composition, Christina Athinodorou leads a career as a conductor. In this connection she has followed the masterclasses of Jorma Panula, Pierre-André Valade, Peter Eötvös, Zsolt Nagy and has worked with many orchestras including the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, the Tonkünstler Orchester, the Nederlands Symphonie Orkest and the London Sinfonietta. In 2017 she founded the ensemble Cyclamen, of which she is artistic director. Athinodorou also gives seminars as a teacher and guest composer in institutions such as the London College of Music and the European University Cyprus.
