“MOYSA – Thessaloniki Concert Hall Youth Symphony Orchestra” was founded in 2015 by the Thessaloniki Concert Hall Organization (TCHO), with an initial donation from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. It has collaborated with distinguished conductors, has performed with internationally renowned soloists and ensembles, and has appeared in some of the most prestigious concert halls in Greece and Europe.
The orchestra, under the baton of its music director Panagiotis Diamantis, is participating in the festival for the second year and will perform two concerts at the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights, each with a different program and soloists.
Orchestra Conductor: Panagiotis Diamantis
Monday, September 7, 2026
- S. Bach: Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052
Soloist: Chrysanthos Therianos
- Edward Elgar: Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 20
- Nikos Skalkotas: 5 Greek Dances for Strings
- Kyriakos Kalaitzidis: Hidden Faces
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
- Giulio Caccini: Ave Maria (arr. for string orchestra)
- S. Bach: Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 (1st movement)
Soloist: Marios Xirocheimonas
- Edward Elgar: Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 20
- Haydn: Cello Concerto in C major (3rd movement)
Soloist: Argyris Kotsis
- Nikos Skalkotas: 5 Greek Dances for Strings
MOYSA – Thessaloniki Concert Hall Youth Symphony Orchestra
“MOYSA – Thessaloniki Concert Hall Youth Symphony Orchestra” is a dynamic community of talented young musicians, aged 10 to 28. It was founded in March 2015 by the Thessaloniki Concert Hall Organization (OMMT), on the initiative of internationally renowned pianist George-Emmanuel Lazaridis and with a founding grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Today, under the musical direction of Chief Conductor Panagiotis Diamantis (since September 2024), the orchestra fulfills its mission of artistic excellence and social awareness through music.
Over the course of its eleven-year history, MOYSA has established historic collaborations with leading conductors and distinguished soloists of international renown, such as Leonidas Kavakos, Barbara Hendricks, Zuill Bailey, and Vladimir Mendelssohn. Its artistic merit is confirmed through its collaborations with some of the world’s most prestigious ensembles, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Cameristi del Teatro alla Scala, the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra.
The years 2025 and 2026 marked a defining milestone in the Orchestra’s outreach efforts. On the initiative of the Artistic Director of the OMTH, a distinguished violin soloist and professor at Greek and foreign universities, Christos Galileas, the orchestra’s artistic programming expanded both within and beyond Greece.
After celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025 with a spectacular concert at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, MOYSA launched the successful “MOYSA On Tour” concert series.
In November 2025, it enchanted audiences at the historic Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt (Austria), while in the spring of 2026 it undertook a highly symbolic Balkan tour: invited by the Greek Embassy in Bucharest for the National Anniversary on March 25, the orchestra triumphed at the NDK Concert Hall in Sofia and at the renowned Romanian Athenaeum.
Combining a high level of orchestral training with an active presence on the European music scene, MOYSA is today one of the most important ambassadors of the new generation of Greek musicians.
The orchestra is participating in the Rhodes -South Aegean for the second consecutive year, with two concerts at the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes and one concert at the Roman Odeon on Kos.