Michalis Economou
Recently appointed Music Director of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Michalis Economou is also chief conductor of the Athens Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the National Radio Orchestra in Greece.
Born in Greece in 1973, he studied musicology at Athens University as well as violin, theory, and composition at the National Conservatory of Athens. He received five scholarships when he moved to Boston in 1997, where he studied orchestral conducting and composition with Lukas Foss, Theodore Antoniou and David Hoose at Boston University. In 1999 he earned his “Master of Music” degree in Conducting and in 2001 he received his “Doctor of Musical Arts” in Composition. His conducting teachers also include the highly acclaimed international figures Jorma Panula and Gianluigi Gelmetti.
Mr Economou is the winner of eleven national and international competitions including the “Alea III” international composition competition and the “Dimitri Mitropoulos” international composition competition. He has conducted all Greek symphony orchestras, as well as numerous major orchestras and ensembles in Europe, USA and Asia. His works have been performed all over the world and he has been commissioned to compose music for Carnegie Hall and, among other venues, for the Athens Megaron Concert Hall.
Currently, Mr. Economou teaches orchestral conducting in Greece and has trained at least 50 young conductors since year 2003. In May 2004 he became Artistic Director of the Athens National Technical University Department of Music, a position that holds until today.
