Panagiotis Liaropoulos Image

Panagiotis Liaropoulos

Associate Professor
Affiliated Departments
Composition

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Panagiotis (Panos) Liaropoulos is an award-winning composer and professor of composition at Berklee College of Music. He was born in Athens, Greece, and, since 1997, has resided and worked in Boston, where he has built a career as a composer, academic, and performer. He holds a doctorate in music composition from Boston University, where he studied as a Fulbright Scholar with Theodore Antoniou and Lukas Foss and graduated with honors for outstanding achievement in theory and composition.

Important commissions and performances of his music include the 2024 performance of his orchestral piece "Ode-Moments in the Life of Orpheus" by the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Boston Symphony Hall performance of his piece "Elegia III" by the Boston Pops, under the baton of Keith Lockhart.

The recording of his "Voreas Keladeinos" (based on text from the Iliad) performed by the Aeolos Woodwind Quintet will be released in 2025.

Career Highlights
  • Recent performance (January 2024) of the orchestral piece "Ode-Moments in the Life of Orpheus" by the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra
  • Boston Symphony Hall performance of "Elegia III" by the Boston Pops, under the baton of Keith Lockhart
  • Commissions and performances include the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Greek Ensemble for Contemporary Music, the Louisiana Sinfonietta, the Athens Megaron Concert Hall, the Aspen Music Festival, the Aeolos Woodwind Quintet, the L' Anima String Quartet, and many others
  • Recording and production of the Mikis and Manos CD, featuring the music of Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hadjidakis in original new arrangements
  • Collaborations as music director and pianist with Haroula Alexiou, Alkistis Protopsalti, Marios Frangoulis, Alkinoos Ioannidis, and other prominent Greek artists
  • Creation of original musical arrangements for concerts held at Boston Symphony Hall, Berklee Performance Center, Sanders Theatre at Harvard, Lincoln Center in New York, Place des Arts’ Theatre Maisonneuve in Montreal, Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, and other important venues around the United States, Canada, and Greece
  • Invitations since 2013 by Berklee College of Music to present and direct an annual concert at Berklee Performance Center with the Dr. Liaropoulos ensemble, featuring various genres of Hellenic music; acclaimed international artists and virtuoso musicians have been invited to participate in these concerts
  • Other recent performances of his music have taken place in summer festivals around Greece (Athens, Chios, Rhodes, Naxos, Amorgos)
  • The recording of "Voreas Keladeinos" (based on text from the Iliad) performed by the Aeolos Woodwind Quintet is set to be released in early spring of 2025, by the Naxos Label
  • Lead researcher and creator of the Digital Audiovisual Folk Music Archive of Amorgos and its islands—a project he started as a Fulbright Fellow, collecting, recording, videotaping, and digitally archiving instrumental and vocal folk music of Amorgos and the Small Cyclades, a relatively remote seven-island complex in the Aegean Sea, in Greece
  • Founder and music director of the Greek Music Ensemble, a Boston-based collective that specializes in the critical interpretation and performance of Hellenic art, in both urban and traditional music; the group promotes genres of Hellenic music as part of the world music scene
  • Elected president of Alea III, a contemporary music ensemble that focuses on supporting the work of young composers from around the world; for the next two years, he will provide leadership focusing on the creation, promotion and performance of new contemporary music works of different genres and stylistic orientations
Awards
  • Second Prize in the Dimitri Mitropoulos International Composition Competition (2005)
  • First Prize in the ALEA III International Composition Competition (2002)
Education
  • Boston University
    Massachusetts
    Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
    Music Theory and Composition
  • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
    Greece
    Bachelor of Music (BM)
    Music Education
  • New Music Conservatory of Thessaloniki
    Greece
    Artist Diploma (AD)
    Music Theory and Composition
  • National Music Conservatory
    Greece
    Artist Diploma (AD)
    Piano Performance
In Their Own Words
In my classes, students will embark on a creative journey where they can explore their unique musical voice. My approach emphasizes both technical mastery and imaginative expression, ensuring that each student not only gains a strong foundation in music theory and composition but also develops the confidence to experiment and innovate. Together, we’ll craft original pieces, dive into various styles, and hone the skills necessary to bring their musical ideas to life. 

Having been exposed to a multitude of objects of knowledge and having approached them from different perspectives and disciplines as an academic/composer/researcher/performer, it has become very clear to me that an interdisciplinary approach to teaching is necessary in order to create successful environments for learning. It is my belief that to teach is not merely to transfer knowledge but to create possibilities for the production and/or construction of knowledge. This includes respecting what the students know, as well as a capacity to be critical and reflective in regard to the teaching practice. Rather than simply lecturing to a class, I strive to cultivate an interactive environment in which students can express themselves freely while learning to engage with the content in meaningful ways. I emphasize critical thinking and the need to consider music in its larger social, historical, and intellectual contexts. Berklee College of Music takes great pride in its training of young musicians, and I feel that it is my responsibility, as faculty, to uphold these standards and to encourage and challenge students to work up to their potential, in the hope that their experiences in my classes will teach them far more than music theory and composition.