Four lucky CYAers enjoy a magical night of modern Greek music at the ancient Odeon of Herodus Atticus.

Nadia Meliniotis, Executive Director of Student Affairs, had a very special surprise for Fall ’18 students during orientation week; a lucky draw giving away four tickets to a special show at the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Herodeon)!

The winners – Ella Furlong, Dayonni Phillips, Alex Poston and Chelsea Alford – jumped on the opportunity to enjoy live piano music under the stars, at the shadow of the Acropolis, in one of the most beautiful and well-preserved ancient stone theaters in the world!

The show was a performance by three Greek composers, Mimis Plessas, George Hatzinasios and George Theofanous, each with their own style, who met on stage at the Herodeon, narrating and performing songs for piano in a combined evening of music. They were accompanied by many other Greek musicians and singers. All proceeds from the concert benefited the charity organization “Together for the Child” that assists children in need.

It was a truly memorable night for Ella who was thrilled to be in an ancient amphitheater, functioning almost as it did nearly 2.000 years ago! “We walked in and we were like I can’t believe we are in here. I can’t believe that we made it.” She was mesmerized by the Odeon and its long history: “I was just amazed looking around the whole stadium because it was unlike a setting I have ever been to in my life”.

Dayonni really enjoyed getting a sense of the songs and the music by watching the crowd’s reactions. “As soon as a new song would start, everyone would get excited and I was thinking to myself Oh! This is going to be good! They all just clapped and waved and we participated to this too. It was so nice to be able to experience this!”

Chelsea comes from a music background and really appreciated the music part of the experience. “I didn’t need to understand the words – music is an international language and this experience reminded me of this”.

Alex couldn’t agree more! “I had never had the opportunity to hear modern Greek music before, so this was very interesting for me!”