MOYSA - Megaro Youth Symphony Orchestra

 
MOYSA – Megaro Youth Symphony Orchestra was created by the Thessaloniki Concert Hall in March 2015, with a grant given by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The initiative for its creation lies with George - Emmanuel Lazaridis, an international pianist, and Artistic Director of the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, at that time.
It is a community of young musicians mainly from Northern Greece, aged 8 to 25, aiming to further educate its members in all aspects of an orchestra, as well as strengthen their social sensitivity through music.
So far, MOYSA has collaborated with a series of conductors such as Ilarion Ionescu - Galati, John Thomas Dodson, Daniel Rowland, Yuri Azevedo, Zoe Zeniodi, Georgios Vranos, Daniele Gatti, Dr. Dariusz Mikulski, Vladimiros Symeonidis, Sami Matus, Miltos Logiadis, Michalis Economou and others. Furthermore, many renowned Greek and international artists have performed with the Orchestra, among others Leonidas Kavakos, Zuill Bailey, Vassilis Varvaresos, Yannis Tsitselikis, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Barbara Hendricks, Simos Papanas.  MOYSA also takes pride in having performed together with major orchestras including the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Cameristi del Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, the Athens State Orchestra, the Thessaloniki City Symphonic Orchestra etc.
In accordance with the Orchestra’s main purpose, the Thessaloniki Concert Hall has been organizing the MOYSA Summer School every summer, since 2016, taking a small break only in 2020 and 2021 due to the extraordinary measures imposed by Covid-19.
MOYSA's chief conductor is Panagiotis Diamantis, while Zoe Zeniodi, Thodoris Papadimitriou and Michalis Trachalios have also served as its chief conductors in the past.