Simos Papanas

Simos Papanas was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1979. A distinguished violinist, baroque violinist, composer and mathematician, he studied violin, baroque violin, composition and mathematics at the New Conservatory of Thessaloniki, Oberlin College and Yale University.

He studied violin with Petar Arnaoudov, Taras Gabora and Erick Friedman, baroque violin with Marilyn McDonald and composition with Christos Samaras.

Papanas has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras including the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Kammerorchester Basel, the Geneva Camerata, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Athens State Orchestra and the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Greek Radio, the Sofia Philharmonic, the Sofia Soloists, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Southwest German Symphony Orchestra, the American Bach Soloists and the Philharmonia Moments Musicaux.

As a recording artist, he has appeared as a soloist for Deutsche Grammophon, BIS Records and Centaur Records.

He has performed at major international festivals including Verbier Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Savannah Music Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, the International Violin Festival of St. Petersburg, the Athens Festival and the Tokyo Music Festival.

His appearances include some of the world’s most prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Palau de la Música Catalana, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Grand Hall, Semperoper Dresden and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

His compositions have been performed and recorded worldwide — in the U.S.A., Russia, Canada, Peru, Iran, Japan, Taiwan and most European countries — in leading halls including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Tonhalle Zürich and the National Concert Hall.

Since 2003, Simos Papanas has served as Concertmaster of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, and since December 2022 he has been its Director.