The main objectives of En Chordais, as set out in the organisation’s statutes, are the research, study, teaching and presentation of the Greek musical heritage, the search for and reconstruction of the elements of a shared musical culture of the Mediterranean through collaborations with cultural and research centres, educational bodies from around the Mediterranean and Europe and, finally, the support and promotion of new musical creation.
The activity of En Chordais has, above all, an educational, scientific and artistic nature, bearing two important parameters in mind:
i. the need to contribute to a collective cultural awareness
ii. the promotion of Greece as a crossroad of cultures, a place of peaceful coexistence and cultural dialogue and as the bearer of a rich heritage
From its creation in 1993 to today, En Chordais has an impressive body of work and experience to present, in both quality and quantity, spread throughout the Mediterranean and the rest of the world, involving leading musicians, musicologists and educators.
Recognition for its precious work came when in 2006 En Chordais was the Greek candidate for the UNESCO Sharjah Award. It has been also awarded with Academie Charles Cros Prize 2014 and Radio France Prize 2008.
En Chordais has, to date, given the opportunity to more than 6,500 students to follow courses and seminars, having worked with about 150 teachers for this purpose and having awarded over 100 scholarships. It has completed 25 research projects, published 11 books and manuals and has released 30 digital compact discs (many of which have accompanying booklets in three languages). It has organised more than 300 musical events, both small and large (International Musical Meetings, Concerts, Symposia, Recitals, Exhibitions of Musical Instruments, the Mediterranean Music Forum and many others) providing the opportunity to over 600 musicians to present their art to both Greece and abroad.
The homonymous music ensemble has composed a broad perspective in the Greek and international music scene. The repertoire of the ensemble celebrates the Byzantine musical heritage and the Greek folk music, the works of major Mediterranean composers, as well as compositions by its members and a creative continuation of this great heritage. En Chordais, renowned for extensive research on the musical legacy of the East Mediterranean, has entranced audiences by more than 950 concerts all over the world. The appreciated ensemble has been invited and performed in very special and important concert halls:
Salle Pleyel (Paris), Berlin Philharmonie, Lincoln Center (New York), Maison Symphonic (Montreal), The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium of Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Cornell University (Ithaca), Palais de Bozar (Brussels), Carl-Orff - Saal Gasteig (Munich), Cairo Opera House, Theatre de la Ville (Paris), San Marco (Venice), The International Jerusalem Oud Festival, South Bank (London), City Hall Concert Hall (Hong Kong), Athens Concert Hall, L’Arsenal (Metz), Melbourne Recital Centre, Ten Days on the Island (Tasmania), Onassis Cultural Center (Athens), Alte Oper (Frankfurt), Centre des Musiques Arabes et Méditerranéennes (Tunis), Stimmen Festival (Germany), Enescu Festival (Bucharest), Sori Festival (South Korea), Shanghai World Music Festival, Tropenmuseum (Amsterdam), Les Suds à Arles festival, Salle Pierre-Mercure (Montreal), Theater of Ancient Epidaurus, Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall (Istanbul), Herodis Atticus Odeon (Athens), Malta International Arts Festival, Fès Festival (Morocco), Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), Benaroya Hall (Seatle), Palais Montcalm (Quebec), Yapi Kredi Arts Festival (Istanbul), Bursa International Festival are just some of them... with important concerts also in Copenhagen, Barcelona, Mallorca, Boston, Cologne, Zurich, Bern, Basel, Belgrade, Plovdiv, Nuremberg, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Luxembourg, Tunis, Amman, Larnaca, Nicosia, Limassol, Aachen, Beirut, Abu Dhabi, Muscat , Kuwait, Wuppertal, and Konya.
These actions have been widely reported throughout the world, resulting in an extensive body of positive criticism, publications, radio and television programs, interviews etc in some of the major world media (Liberation, New York Times, Arte TV, BBC world service, TV 5, Radio CANADA, Radio FRANCE, Turkish Radio Television, English Street Hong Kong, ABC Radio National Australia, Monde de la Music, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazira, WDR, Gig Magazine, BC Magazine Hong Kong, Mondomix, Deutschland Radio, Liberation, Hellenic Radio & Television…).
From 2002 to 2005 En Chordais was the leader of the MediMuses project, realized in the frame of European Omprella Euromed Heritage II. En Chordais association has also participate at the European projects Εxtra!, More, Melos and Cantates des Rives in cooperation with other institutions from Middle East and Europe.
In order to carry out its program, En Chordais has collaborated with major institutions and bodies (European Union, Presidency of the Hellenic Republic, The Hellenic Ministry of Culture, The Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Holy Community of Mount Athos, Athens Concert Hall, Cairo Opera House, Medecins du Monde, Centre for Arab and Mediterranean Music Studies of Tunis, The Lebanese National Higher Conservatory, Salle Pleyel (Paris), the Maritime Museum of Oinoussae, State Theater of Northern Greece, Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Radio France, Τhe Turkish Music State Conservatory, The Sage - Gateshead, Τhe European Music Council, Theatre de la Ville (Paris), Cite de la Musique (Paris), Alexander S. Onassis Public benefit Foundation (Athens/New York), Τhe Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), Τhe Sibelius Academy (Helsinki), Memories of Byzantium, Centro Flamenco Paco Peña of Cordoba, Scuola di Musica Antica (Venezia), National Music Conservatory / Noor Al Hussein Foundation of Amman, Institute Supérieur de Musique (Tunis), Centre des Musiques Arabes et Mediterraneennes of Tunis, El Hefny Center (Cairo), Yapi Kredi Art Festival (Istanbul), Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Department of Cultural Affairs, The Leisure & Cultural Services Department (Hong Kong) etc).
