with Professor Konstantinos Papadakis, New England Conservatory, Boston University

July 4 - 17, 2016
Athens

Course Description

This course (MU493) is an intensive directed study in piano performance. Any students already attending an undergraduate music program majoring in piano is eligible to participate. Through individual lessons and team workshops, students will work on specific pieces of the standard piano repertoire, develop their musicianship, increase their virtuosity, publicly perform at the final concert of the course and attain a higher level of artistry.

Learning Outcomes

During the course students will:

• Develop advanced performance skills in the piano as a soloist.
• Develop stylistic awareness.
• Build independence as a performer.
• Achieve technical progress.
• Acquire the ability to prepare for a public performance.
• Acquire the ability to work independently to prepare performances at the highest possible level.
• Acquire an orientation to the fundamentals of pedagogy.

Course Outline

Participants should bring two pieces of music (or movements of larger works), each no longer than 15 minutes. They can also bring other to work on additionally, depending on availability.

Students will meet with the instructor for a minimum of 7 individual hourly sessions during the course of the program.

Additional group meetings, master classes, and workshops will take place, in which perspectives on performing and teaching piano will be presented.

Participants are free to attend the individual sessions of their fellow students. They will have the opportunity to practice at the Music Horizons Conservatory premises.

The final concert will be videotaped and recorded.

Instructor

The course is taught by Dr. Konstantinos Papadakis, pianist and faculty member in the Piano Department of Boston University and New England Conservatory. More information on Dr. Papadakis’s performance career can been found in this biographical note.

Practical Information

Image: "The Pianist" by Simon Blackley used under CC BY 2.0

The Hellenic American University’s International Study Abroad Program in Music is addressed to students around the world who would like continue their music studies in the summer, earn college credits while doing so, and enjoy a unique opportunity to experience Greek cultural life.

Courses are taught by internationally accomplished composers and performers, members of the Hellenic American University faculty as well as visiting faculty from Schools of Music in the United States. This year the Program is pleased to be working with Theodoros Antoniou (Hellenic American University) in composition, Dr. Panos Liaropoulos (Berklee School of Music) in composition and Dr. Konstantinos Papadakis (Boston University, New England Conservatory) in piano.

The program is offered in Athens. A part of some courses also takes place at other locations in Greece, such as the island of Amorgos.

Summer 2016 Courses

For summer 2016 two courses are being offered:

• Composition for String Quartet, 3 credits, June 27 - July 23, 2016, Athens - Amorgos
• Piano Seminar, 1½ credits, July 4 – 17, 2016, Athens

Image: International Study Abroad Program in Music

with Professor Panos Liaropoulos, Berklee College of Music

June 27 - July 23, 2016
Athens - Amorgos  

Course Description

This course (MU 492) is an intensive directed study in composing for string quartet. The key learning outcome is the student’s composition of a string quartet, which will be performed, videotaped and recorded at the end of the course.

Through short lectures, listening, musical analysis, score study and ongoing, individual review of their composition in progress, students expand their knowledge of string instruments and learn key principles of form, style, roles, color and rhetoric used in composing for string quartet.

During the last week of the program, students will participate in a 15-hour workshop, led by internationally acclaimed composer Theodore Antoniou, in which the students’ compositions will be reviewed and read by the L’ Anima String Quartet.

The course takes place in Athens and on the island of Amorgos.

Learning Outcomes

During the course students will:

1) Develop skills to compose idiomatically for the string quartet.

2) Acquire the ability to handle a single and/or multi-movement piece in a characteristic and coherent manner.

3) Develop a thorough understanding of the characteristics of string instruments, including acoustics, timbres, performance techniques, tone qualities, musical capabilities, idiosyncrasies, and notation.

4) Acquire a thorough understanding of notational conventions related to strings writing and cultivate relevant listening and score-study skills.

Course Outline

Students will meet with the instructor for 12 individual hourly sessions during the period of the program.

Three additional weekly group meetings will take place, in which analytical and historical perspectives on the evolution of the string quartet will be presented.

Student compositions will be reviewed in the last week of the program during a 15-hour workshop, led by Theodore Antoniou. The pieces will be read and reviewed by the members of the L’ Anima String Quartet, who be present throughout the workshop and will also perform all students’ works in concert on the last day of the seminar at Hellenic American University.

All works will be videotaped and recorded during the concert.

Instructor

The course is taught by Dr. Panagiotis Liaropoulos, a composer, pianist and faculty member in the Composition Department at Berklee College of Music and the Department of Performing Arts at the University of Massachusetts Boston. More information on Dr. Liaropoulos’ composing work and performance career can be found in this biographical note. 

Suggested Listenings and Readings

Participants are encouraged to listen to as many of the string quartets in the attached list as possible before the start of the course. 

Practical Information

Explore ancient and modern Greek history and culture through Hellenic American University’s short-term travel study programs. These credit-bearing courses combine classroom instruction and expert-led on-site learning at some of the most fascinating cultural and archaeological sites in the country, including Athens, ancient Olympia, Delphi, Mt. Taygetus and Mt. Olympus, and the islands of Santorini, Kos, Rhodes and Crete.

Programs are offered in collaboration with educational and cultural organizations such as the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum and Mentor in Greece, a cultural trail specialist with expertise in quality educational tourism.

Greek Folk Dance Study Abroad: Dancing Traditions, Embodied Heritage, and Fieldwork in Epirus

Immerse yourself in the living tradition of Greek folk dance through a unique on-site study project and explore the cultural richness of Epirus, Greece, a mountainous region in northwestern Greece that is home to the Zagori cultural landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The program bridges embodied knowledge and academic inquiry through an engaging mix of workshops, classroom sessions, and fieldwork, and includes participation in centuries-old traditional festivals (panagyria) and contact with local communities. The program can be taken as a 3-credit course.

Program Dates: June 23 – July 3, 2025

Application Deadline: February 28, 2025

Cost without college credit: $1,975 per participant

Cost with 3 US college credits: $2,680 per participant

Contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information

Mentor Travel Study Programs

Courses are taught by Hellenic American University faculty and run for roughly 10 days, each offering 45 contact hours and 3 undergraduate credits. The cost of each course package includes tuition, accommodations and meals (half board), insurance, site admissions, and ground transportation to and from the sites.

Programs are usually offered in summer, during spring break and in winter intersessions but most can be offered on demand any time during the year.

• Browse the Courses