TRIETHNÉS FESTIVAL: A Resounding Success for the 1st International Music Festival at the Greece–Albania–North Macedonia Border

Sep 9

The 1st TRIETHNÉS International Music Festival concluded with great success, taking place from August 28 to 31 across the wider Prespa region. The festival was co-produced with the Municipality of Prespa and held under the auspices and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture.

From August 28 to 31, Prespa welcomed large crowds, with concert venues filled to capacity on every date. Highlights included performances at the old stone quarry (Damari) in the village of Mikrolimni and the concert at the “PELEKANOS” Bean Cooperative’s Packaging Plant in Laimos.

Both Artistic Director Giorgos Ziavras and the Mayor of Prespa, Mr. Giorgos Stergiou, expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the warm response of the public during their address on the evening of August 30.

The festival presented a program of contemporary music inspired by the traditional melodies of the tri-border region, featured a special tribute to the internationally acclaimed Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino, and offered a platform to five emerging artists from Austria, Germany, Portugal, and Iran. Additionally, within the framework of its educational program and the PRESPENSIS Contemporary Music Creation Academy, six new works were commissioned by the festival and premiered worldwide. Participants of the Academy included students from the University of Macedonia (ΠΑ.ΜΑΚ), the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Α.Π.Θ.), and students from the Music Schools of Kastoria and Ptolemaida. The festival’s events took place across five different villages in the Municipality of Prespa, including Mikrolimni, Laimos, Pyli, Agios Germanos, and Lefkonas.

All activities were centered on the theme of memory—personal, historical, and collective—as expressed both through contemporary music creation and through the traditional music of the Balkans, with a particular focus on the three countries bordering Great Prespa Lake: Greece, Albania, and North Macedonia.

Festival Highlights

The program of the 1st TRIETHNÉS International Music Festival opened on the morning of Thursday, August 28, at Agios Nikolaos in Pyli, a unique Byzantine church surrounded by bean fields along the shores of Small Lake Prespa. In this remarkable setting, percussionist Panagiotis Ziavras gave the Greek premieres of three works for solo percussion, while performer Myrgon engaged in a dialogue with sound, crafting a living allegory using his own body and natural materials drawn from the lake’s landscape.

On Thursday evening, the packed old stone quarry (Damari) in Mikrolimni was transformed into an atmospheric concert venue, hosting the internationally acclaimed Austrian pianist Anton Gerzenberg alongside the Chaonia Polyphonic Ensemble. Overlooking Small Lake Prespa and set against a magical sunset, the audience was treated to a unique fusion of seemingly contrasting sounds that, over time, felt deeply familiar.

On the afternoon of Friday, August 29, the old stone quarry (Damari) in Mikrolimni once again filled with an eager audience, this time for the concert "Upcycling Memories”, featuring works by Salvatore Sciarrino, Luciano Berio, and Gustav Mahler. The evening included the Greek premiere of Sciarrino’s Le Voci Sottovetro, while Berio’s Folk Songs came to life through the enchanting voices of Artemis Bogri and Elena Maragou, interwoven with traditional melodies in Greek, Albanian, Macedonian (Makedónski), and Pontic Greek, performed by Natasa Tsakiridou. The concert concluded with an outstanding performance by acclaimed baritone Georgios Iatrou in Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer). The orchestra was conducted by the festival’s artistic director, Yorgos Ziavras.

On Saturday, August 30, the Bean Packaging Plant of the “PELEKANOS” Cooperative in the village of Laimos hosted a unique performance of Pnoi (Breath) by Kornilios Selamsis, featuring the Ventus Ensemble and soprano Dimitra Kotidou. After the concert, the venue transformed into a traditional Prespa celebration, with the brass band Topiki Paradosi (“Local Tradition”) leading the festivities, where wine flowed freely and dancing continued until dawn.

Early on the afternoon of Sunday, August 31, the Byzantine Collection in Agios Germanos hosted the closing concert of the PRESPENSIS Contemporary Music Creation Academy, a collaboration between the Department of Music Science and Art (University of Macedonia) and the Department of Music Studies (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), with the kind support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). The concert featured six world premieres of new works composed by students from the two universities, including two pieces created by composers based in Portugal and Iran. The ensembles were made up of students of classical and traditional instruments from the University of Macedonia and Aristotle University, students from the Music Schools of Kastoria and Ptolemaida, as well as professional musicians from the National Opera Orchestra and the Athens State Orchestra.

On Sunday evening, August 31, the festival moved to the village of Lefkonas for a unique, epic performance, where folk diva Anna Goula-Vardinogianni appeared alongside acclaimed baritone Georgios Iatrou and conductor/pianist Yorgos Ziavras. In a packed bar—the only one of its kind in Prespa—they performed German Lieder, French chansons, folk repertoire hymns, and passionate love songs until dawn. The evening reached its climax with champagne, plate-breaking, and an atmosphere reminiscent of forgotten bouzouki nights from the previous millennium, closing the festival in an unforgettable way. The stage design, direction, and costume design were curated by Anna Goula.

TRIETHNÉS+ | Educational and Community Engagement Program

Alongside the festival’s concert program, the TRIETHNÉS+ (TRIETHNÉS Plus) initiative—dedicated to educational activities and community engagement—was carried out with great success. Its aim was to encourage the active participation of local residents as well as visitors in selected activities linked to the artistic program, strengthening the audience’s connection to the festival and fostering a shared community for the duration of the event.

This year’s educational program included a polyphonic singing workshop with the ensemble Chaonia on Thursday morning, as well as a traditional Balkan dance workshop with Lygkistes on Friday morning. Both activities were hosted at the Prespa KΔΑΠ (Creative Learning Center) in Agios Germanos, made possible through the generous support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

Additionally, the flagship of the TRIETHNÉS+ program, the PRESPENSIS Contemporary Music Creation Academy, was held for the first time in collaboration with the Department of Music Science and Art (University of Macedonia), the Department of Music Studies (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), and the Music Schools of Kastoria and Ptolemaida. The Academy took place in Prespa as an intensive four-day residency, culminating in a final concert in Agios Germanos, where six new works by Greek and international composition students were presented in world premiere.

The festival’s artistic program was curated by conductor Yorgos Ziavras, with accordionist and composer Stamatis Pasopoulos serving as artistic programming advisor. Jay Raïsis oversaw production management, in collaboration with Sofia Zouzeli and Nalia Zikou, while the press office was managed by Jay Raïsis and Sofia Zouzeli. The festival’s visual identity and logo design were created by Talou Galanou.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to our volunteers Konstantina Giannoutsou, Marina Polymeridou, Eirini Kontogeorgiou, and Eirini Koutseri, as well as everyone who contributed to bringing the festival to life.

The 1st TRIETHNÉS International Music Festival was a production of VENTUS ENSEMBLE CIVIC NON PROFIT LEGAL ENTITY, under the auspices and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture.