SOP Podcast #119: Nicholas Papadimitriou on translating the message of the composer to the listener

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #119!

Today's guest is Nicholas Papadimitriou, an organist, pianist and composer originally from Greece but currently studying and working in the Netherlands.

Born in June of the year 1993, he started studying the piano at the age of six with his first teacher Domenica Mikaits.
Two years later he joined an orchestra for young children, in which he participated for six years.

At the age of thirteen, he joined the Philippos Nakas Conservatory in Athens where he studied the piano with Athanasios Grozas.

At the age of fifteen, he started studying the Organ privately with Zafeiria Vassiliou in the Megaron Concert Hall and in the Anglican Church in Athens.

In 2009 he enrolled in the Conservatory's Department of Music Theory where he studied with Michalis Rousselakis. During this time, he also participated in Choir Direction classes with Valeri Oreskin and has been a member of the Conservatory's choir.

In 2012 he received his degree in Music Theory with a Distinction.

In 2011 he was accepted in the Music Department of the Ionian University in Corfu, but he interrupted his studies there as he decided to pursue his goals abroad instead.

After extensively exploring the possibilities offered by various music institutions around Europe, he decided to turn his attention to the Netherlands.

In 2013 he was admitted to the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he has since been studying the organ with Jacques van Oormerssen, Pieter van Dijk, and Matthias Havinga. In this time he also studied piano with Peter Besseling, Improvisation and Basso Continuo with Miklós Spányi and followed conducting lessons with Lucas Vis and Jos Vermunt.

In the period of 2013-2017, he participated in various concerts and has performed in venues such as the ‘Orgelpark’, the Waalse Kerk, the Oosterkerk and the Moses en Aaronkerk in Amsterdam. During this time he also participated numerous times in Masterclasses by Louis Robilliard.

In September 2015 he was appointed Organist/Conductor in the Pastoor van Arskerk in Haarlem.

In September 2016 he was appointed student assistant in the Conservatorium van Amsterdam for certain theory subjects.

In October 2016 he started working as an Organist in the Pelgrimskerk in Badhoevedorp.

​​In June 2017 he graduated from the Bachelor's and was admitted to the Master's Program, where he is currently focusing on Improvisation & Innovative Music Pedagogy. 

In the meantime, he also published his first book, 'The Misleading Tone', an innovative teaching method about keyboard improvisation.

In this conversation Nicholas shares his insights about his misical experiments, storytelling and translating the message of the composer to the listener. Make sure you listen to the very end of this interview because I ask him about what are the 3 steps in becoming a better organist. I ask this question nearly every guest on the show and all of them give a different answer. Nicholas is not an exception.

​Listen to the conversation

Relevant link:
https://www.nicholaspapadimitriou.com