About Alkistis
Alkistis Misouli is a Greek-Cypriot violist whose performance career spans classical music, Greek folk, jazz, improvisation, and sound collage. As a composer, she explores conflict and the nuances of human relationships through interdisciplinary and socially engaged works.
Having earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam under the ‘Vergotis’ and “Alexandra Trianti” scholarships, Alkistis designed her own program combining composition and jazz improvisation, studying with Richard Ayres, Sven Arne Tepl, Jasper Blom, and Ben van Gelder. She performs internationally, with concerts in venues across Europe - such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Berlin Konzerthaus- as well as in Oman, China, Israel, Latin America and the United States. Since November 2024, she has been a violist with the baroque ensemble Armonia Atenea, and in March 2025, she joined the Balthasar Neumann Academy Program 2025–2026.
Born in Athens in 1999, Alkistis began studying viola at age nine. She earned her first diploma at the Athens Conservatory under Elias Sdoukos in 2018, followed by a bachelor’s degree with Sven Arne Tepl and Nobuko Imai in 2022. From age 15, she played in youth orchestras such as the Greek-Turkish Youth Orchestra, Greek Youth Symphony Orchestra, and later the European Union Youth Orchestra, where she also served as principal violist on a project.
Alkistis has participated in masterclasses with musicians including Anita Mitterer, Marc Sabbah, Tatjana Masurenko, Danusha Waskiewicz, Thomas Selditz, Christoph Poppen, Sophia Reuter, Garth Knox, as well as the Evenos and Danel Quartets. Before studying in Amsterdam, she gained professional experience with the Athens State Orchestra (completing its two-year Young Musicians Academy program in 2016–2017), the Greek National Orchestra, and regularly performed with Armonia Atenea in Greece and abroad, including the Händel Festival in Halle. She has worked under conductors such as Leonidas Kavakos, George Petrou, Vasilis Christopoulos, Vasily Petrenko, Stephane Deneve, Pekka Kuusisto, and Christoph Poppen, and has performed as a soloist with several Greek orchestras, including the Athens Municipality Symphonic Orchestra and Armonia Atenea.
From a young age, Alkistis has been passionate about dance, theatre, literature, and philosophy. Her interdisciplinary collaborations include the theatrical production Yio-Ki-Hi (theatre Noh) directed by Michael Marmarinos (2017, SNFCC Alternative Stage), When We Move (EMST, 2024) by Grace Schwindt and Sappho’s Daughters (Cockpit Theatre-London, 2025).
In June 2020, she launched her own sound-composition series based on improvisation, the 'Covid-19 Miniatures'. Since then, she has focused increasingly on developing her own projects. In 2021, she led the EUYO viola section in Ferrara and premiered her first composition, Quartet Beneath the Waves, at the Cellowercken Zutphen festival. In 2022, she participated in the Samos Young Artists Festival (organized by the Schwarz Foundation) and began organising concerts for Ukrainian refugees, including one at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Her composition I Love You was premiered in February 2024 at Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ in Amsterdam by Ensemble FONOS. She is also a recent alumnus of OneBeat13, completing a residency and tour in the U.S. in spring 2024.
Alkistis is currently active in various chamber groups in Amsterdam and Europe, spanning classical, jazz, and folk music. Her own projects increasingly focus on social engagement: after winning the EUYO Café Bauhaus Award 2024, she launched a series of concerts and communal music-making sessions in refugee centers across the Netherlands. Since May 2024, she has led her own chamber jazz sextet, performing original music in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. They recently released their debut album, entitled ‘Vulnerability Portraits’.
