ALEXANDROS ARKADOPOULOS - BIOGRAPHY

Alexandros Arkadopoulos was born in Ioannina in 1977, where he grew up. His father is a goldsmith, originally from Koniska in the mountainous Trichonida region of Aetolia-Acarnania, and his mother is an educator, originally from Gouria in Aetoliko.

He began his musical studies, both theoretical and practical, at the age of seven, initially at the Ioannina branch of the Hellenic Conservatory of Athens and later at the Epirus Conservatory. The first instruments he studied were electric organ, guitar, bouzouki, and percussion. At the age of ten, he began studying the flute and, shortly after, the traditional clarinet.

He holds a degree from the Department of Music Studies of the School of Philosophy at the University of Athens, where he is also completing his doctoral dissertation.

As a flutist, he was a founding and core member of the Ioannina Youth Symphony Orchestra since 1987, performing in numerous concerts throughout Greece and abroad (France, Germany, Spain, Japan) under distinguished foreign and Greek conductors. He also performed with the orchestra as a soloist (flute, piccolo) in Greece and internationally. He attended flute masterclasses with Ilias Barbas, Urs Ruttiman (flute professor at the Athens Conservatory), and Dimitris Fotopoulos (flute professor at the Orpheum Conservatory).

In June 1997, he received his degree in harmony from the Apollonian Conservatory under composer Vasilis Dellios. In June 2001, he earned his flute diploma with "unanimous honors" under professor Thanasis Kataras, and in June 2006, he obtained his diploma in Byzantine Music from the Conservatory of Egaleo.

As a traditional clarinetist, he took his first lessons from the great Epirote master Grigoris Kapsalis. His subsequent journey in traditional music was built on personal study and research. From a very young age, he participated in traditional weddings and folk festivals across the region of Epirus and the rest of Greece, as well as in concerts and cultural events in Greece and abroad.

He has participated as a musician in concerts, discography, theatrical performances, as well as radio and television programs with prominent artists of the art-folk scene, such as: Mikis Theodorakis, Yannis Markopoulos, Eleni Karaindrou, Nikos Kypourgos, George Dalaras, Haris Alexiou, Eleni Vitali, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Ara Dinkjian, Loreena McKennitt, Dulce Pontes, Tania Tsanaklidou, Dimitra Galani, Eleni Tsaligopoulou, Glykeria, Pitsa Papadopoulou, Christos Nikolopoulos, Nena Venetsanou, Dimitris Bassis, Maria Dimitriadi, Manolis Mitsias, Gerasimos Andreatos, Kostas Makedonas, Yiannis Kotsiras, Evanthia Reboutsika, Lina Nikolakopoulou, Elli Paspala, Kostas Thomaidis, Eleni Dimou, Sofia Papazoglou, Sokratis Malamas, Natassa Bofiliou, Lavrentis Machairitsas, Vassilis Lekkas, Minos Matsas, Giannis Haroulis, Dimitris Kontogiannis, Babis Tsertos, Stamatis Kokotas, Lakis Halkias, Antonis Vardis, Giorgos Theofanous, Antonis Remos, Stelios Rokkos, Nikos Vertis, Panos Kiamos, Nikos Oikonomopoulos, and Giannis Ploutarhos. In traditional music, he has performed alongside: Sofia Kollitiri, Filio Pyrgaki, Chronis Aidonidis, Domna Samiou, Katerina Doitsidi, Antonis Kyritsis, Panagiotis Lalezas, Savvas Siatras, Vassilis Skoulas, Stathis Bellos, Christos Tsiamoulis, Estoudiantina, Andreas Apergis, Ross Daly, Huun Huur Tu, and Krotala.

He has performed as a soloist in prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Athens Megaron Concert Hall, the Thessaloniki Megaron Concert Hall, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the Ancient Conservatory of Patras, and other major cultural spaces in Greece and internationally.

In 2004, he recorded for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Athens Olympic Games, and in 2011, he recorded for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics at the Kallimarmaro Panathenaic Stadium. He taught traditional wind instruments at the Department of Folk and Traditional Music of the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus (Arta) from 2001 to 2005, as well as traditional clarinet at the Athens Conservatory from 2006 to 2010. He is a founding member of the musical ensemble TAKIM and the world jazz group NOUVEAU SEXTET.

Since 2017, he teaches traditional clarinet in the postgraduate program of the Department of Music Studies at the University of Athens.