ANO 2021 / 5th ANO International Organ Festival

Continuing its effort to support the modern artistic creativity and the people in its service, and with the constant goal of expanding its audience, but also the revitalization of the medieval settlement of Ano Syros, the 5th International Organ Festival “ANO”, following the successful approach taken last year, plans to host a summer event featuring four pipe organ concerts. The concerts will be recorded and livestreamed from St. George’s Cathedral in Ano Syros, to outdoor areas, subject to all necessary public health measures, and can be watched online. They will also be broadcasted on regional television stations, electronic media and social media networks.
Due to the objective difficulty disabled people have in accessing St. George’s Cathedral in Ano Syros, one of the Festival’s main concern is to organise parallel events at venues that will enable individuals with mobility-related problems to access them. The ANO Festival firmly believes that disabled people should be treated equally, and as members of society all of us are obliged not to erect barriers to their endeavours to make a contribution and participate in day-to-day life. So, this year the Festival is collaborating for the design of its posters with the visual artist Konstantinos Katagas, whose four posters form the quarters of a work which will be completed at the end of 2021, with the poster for the Festival’s Christmas event.

Events Programme / 16-21 August

In order to reduce the chance of concerts being cancelled because of a change in the rules on permitted travel between European Union countries, this year too, only a limited number of artists from abroad has been invited to participate. Most of the concerts will only feature Greek artists, in an effort to highlight and promote Modern Greek artistic creativity in both Greece and abroad.

Each of the concerts will be introduced by Nikos Kanellopoulos, music producer and ANO Festival programme consultant.

During the entire festival an exhibition organised by the Polish Embassy and dedicated to the anniversary of the first modern written constitution in Europe, which entered into force in Poland in 1791, and was the second in the world after the Constitution of the United States, will be hosted in the forecourt of St. George’s Cathedral in Ano Syros.

Independence & Viability

Our goal is to ensure that Festival events can be attended by the public free of charge, while also ensuring the Festival’s independence and viability. With that in mind, this year the ANO Festival has been examining and working on ways to utilise European and national programmes that co-finance culture, that seek to further networking and promote exchanges of know-how on educational, research and operational issues.

Thanks to the Festival’s inclusion in the CLLD/LEADER Local Action Programme, with the Cyclades Development Company S.A. as the local action group, and thanks to co-financing from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food, financial support for the “ANO Spring”, “ANO Pro” and “ANO Christmas” events has now been secured for the three-year period 2021-2023. By utilising the resources of the specific programme, the Festival will become a unique event of its kind for residents of the wider area.

The Greek Ministry of Culture & Sport (through the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” priority axis and the “Collective Memory” priority area) approved the grant for part one of the ANO Digital Artistic Residence project. This is a digital venue that will host artists from Greece and abroad. Through a comprehensive training and mentoring framework, which will be co-financed later by other sources, they will be inspired to compose works for the pipe organ, which will also be performed at concerts as part of the Festival.
In order to expand its own audience, and in general to expand the audience of pipe organ lovers, the ANO Festival is also seeking to create a network of organ festivals on the islands and in the coastal areas of the European Union. Our proposal on this matter will be submitted for financing as part of the “Creative Europe” Call for 2021.

This year’s event also allows for children and young people to become familiar with and participate in culture via a parallel event that will acquaint them with the aerophone harmonium. It has been funded under the ‘Documenting, Safeguarding and Highlighting the Intangible Cultural Heritage’ pillar of the Ministry of Culture & Sport’s activities.

Upcoming Events

Bicentennial of the Greek Revolution – 28 October
Works for pipe organ and two female voices
Eleni Keventsidou, pipe organ
Sofia Papadimitropoulou, soprano
Ioanna Vrakatselli, alto

ANO Christmas I Saturday – 25 December
Works for pipe organ and mandolins
Irini Anastasiou, pipe organ
Doreen Laskaridou, mandolin
Lambis Mitsakis, mandolin
Ariadni Hayer, mandola

Poster’s image: Kostas Katagas
TV Spot Production: Yiannis Manousos, Giorgos Roussos, Markos Trakas
Optical Identity of the Festival: Freiderikos Roussos,

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture & Sports and the Secretariat General for the Aegean and Island Policy