Strings Workshop

The Strings Workshop was established in October 2006 as a programme of the Ministry of Education and Culture. It functions with the cooperation of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation, and is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

It forms the initial stage of a comprehensive project for the development of young musical talent in Cyprus.

This ground breaking and ambitious undertaking within the general sphere of cultural development provides opportunities for talented young Cypriot children to become involved in music and receive instruction on their instrument at the highest possible level.

The Violin Workshop, the first phase of the project to be established, currently operates as part of the Music Workshop of the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra and at the moment teaches around 35 children from Nicosia and Limassol, aged between 4-14 years.

The long-term objective of the Workshop is to discover children from all over Cyprus, aged between 3-10 years with a special talent in music and interest in learning an orchestral string instrument. Thus, through applying suitable methods of instruction, guidance and supervision, a  young children’s string orchestra will be created in the near future, which can be expected within the next ten years to develop into an orchestra worthy of similar ensembles abroad.

The Workshop functions under the supervision and guidance of the distinguished violinist and music pedagogue Matheos Kariolou, who visits Cyprus and works intensively with the children at regular intervals. In the intervening periods the teaching is undertaken by a small number of selected assistants.

The children from the Workshop have already appeared with great success at various events and concerts.