Greece’s uninhabited island of Keros, home to the oldest sanctuary ever discovered and long regarded as one of the Cyclades’ most significant archaeological sites, will host a landmark concert this September.
Directed by Michael Marmarinos, the performance is part of the Koufonisia Classical Music Festival and will be staged at dawn with natural light before a limited audience, while also streamed live internationally.
The Koufonisia Classical Music Festival marks its 10th anniversary this year under the artistic direction of conductor and pianist Kornilios Michailidis. Since its founding, the festival has grown into a cultural meeting point in the Aegean, blending eras and aesthetics with programming that ranges from ancient music to contemporary works.
Five millennia of sound
The 2025 edition, themed “Five Millennia of Greek Sound,” will showcase the continuity of Greek musical heritage.
The program spans ancient melodies performed on replica instruments, Byzantine chant, 20th-century songs, traditional music, and new compositions by Greek creators, illustrating the evolution of sound across centuries.
Keros as a living monument in Greece
The island of Keros in Greece had one of the most noteworthy Cycladic settlements during the Bronze Age, reaching the peak of its civilization around 2,500 BC.
In the mid-twentieth century, archaeologists unearthed a wealth of the iconic flat-faced Cycladic figurines on the island, a spectacular find that has since been known as the “Keros Hoard.”
From 2006 to 2008, a team of archaeologists, led by Professor Colin Renfrew, Co-director of the Cambridge Keros Project and National Geographic Explorer, excavated the west coast of Keros, which is believed to be the source of the sculptures.
Their discoveries revealed large, terraced walls and homes that formed a pyramid-like shape on Keros. Perhaps most amazingly, underneath the structures, evidence of advanced plumbing was also found. These discoveries make Dhaskalio, and Keros by extension, one of the most important Bronze Age sites anywhere in the Aegean.
Artists and outreach on Greece’s Keros
Presented in cooperation with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades and the South Aegean Region, the Keros concert in Greece aims to transform the archaeological site into a “living musical monument.”
The event retraces the journey of Greek sound from antiquity to the present, linking cultural memory with a site of global significance. Among the performers will be baritone Dimitris Tiliakos, actress Olia Lazaridou, percussionist Dimitris Desyllas, guitarist George Tabakis, and lyra player Socratis Sinopoulos.
Alongside the concerts, the festival continues its educational initiative for children in the Koufonisia island group, supported by the Qualco Foundation, the Greek Ministry of Culture, the Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation, and the Municipality of Naxos and Small Cyclades.
By uniting history, performance, and place, the Koufonisia Classical Music Festival underscores both its 10-year legacy and the enduring resonance of Greek sound across five millennia.
