The Maria Callas Alumni Association of the Music School of Kalamata is the oldest non-profit making organisation in Greece to be named after the legendary soprano.
From the inception of our association to the present day we have successfully mounted many cultural projects and collaborations that go beyond the borders of Greece. We continue in our commitment to offer our services to the public and to participate in or initiate projects and events with institutions, foundations and individual leading exponents of the Arts.
In commemoration of the Centenary of her birth, UNESCO and the Greek Ministry of Culture have declared the year 2023 dedicated to the great artist.
Our Association was at the forefront of the celebrations and presented a unique exhibition devoted to Maria Callas. It took place in the heart of Kalamata, in the Gallery of Contemporary Greek Art of the City of Kalamata of the Public Library, on the 3rd floor of the Municipal Cultural Centre of Kalamata.
The exhibition was a focal point of attraction and an inspiration for hundreds of pupils from primary and secondary schools in our prefecture and beyond. Students from the USA and Canada as well as visitors from the USA, Germany, France, England, Israel and Cyprus have passed through the Gallery’s hexagon. Online tours of the exhibition were set up for schools in Zurich as well as the Greek communities in Ghent and in Boston.
The exhibition opened to the public on 16th September, with the personal friend of Maria Callas and her accompanist, the pianist Robert Sutherland, as our honorary guest. It closed on 2nd December, exactly on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the most famous operatic voice of the latter half of XXth century. The Mayor of Kalamata attended the closing ceremony, and Messrs Andrew Visnevski and Colin Deane, the donors to our Association’s archive and collection, were our honorary guests.
