Rays of Love

Rays of Love · Piano recital with Nick Venner and Chris Yonas

Sunday 14 December 2025
Doors: 17:30 · Concert: 18:00
Church of St George Karytsis, Athens
Free admission, on a first-come, first-served basis.

YRIART and GALAXY 92FM invite you to Rays of Love, a piano recital with distinguished pianists Nick Venner and Chris Yonas, presented for the first time at the historic Church of St George Karytsis.

Dedicated to World Love Day, the concert offers a musical reflection on love’s many forms: romantic, spiritual and human. Through a programme spanning four centuries of musical creation, the two soloists reveal the piano as an instrument of passion and the inner life.

Rays of Love seeks the inner radiance that love inspires, from the lyricism of Chopin and Liszt to Scriabin’s mystical flame and Debussy’s poetic energy. In a setting of distinctive acoustics and a contemplative atmosphere, the concert invites its audience to experience inner harmony and spiritual uplift.

The original invitation requested a full name and telephone number by email to studio@galaxy92.gr.

The event is supported by Forlabels, Spyros Nakas – Musical Instruments, Victory Promise, M2 Intelligence, Yonas Design, Dikaios Dental, Gogreek, and INICIO Coffee, Gastro & Cocktails.

Media partners: ERT, Third Programme 90.9–95.6, and classicalmusic.gr.

Programme

Part I · Nick Venner
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Les Cyclopes
Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in E minor, K. 98
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809): Piano Sonata in D major, Hob. XVI:37
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Polonaise in F-sharp minor, Op. 44
Franz Liszt (1811–1886): Grandes Études de Paganini No. 6 in A minor, S. 141

Part II · Chris Yonas
Alexander Scriabin: Étude in C-sharp major, Op. 2 No. 1
Alexander Scriabin: Prelude & Nocturne for the Left Hand, Op. 9
Alexander Scriabin: Étude in F-sharp major, Op. 42 No. 4
Frédéric Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
Franz Liszt: Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat major
Franz Liszt: Concert Étude No. 3, Un Sospiro, in D-flat major
Claude Debussy: L’Isle joyeuse, L. 106

Venue
Church of St George Karytsis, St George Karytsis Square, 10561 Athens
Original admission arrangements: free entry, on a first-come, first-served basis; invitations by email to studio@galaxy92.gr with a full name and telephone number.

Related links

Artist social media
https://www.instagram.com/christosyonas/
https://www.instagram.com/nikosvenner/

Artist interviews
https://acgalumni.gr/en/5428-2
https://ipolizei.gr/o-nikos-venner-oi-omorfes-idees-mas-erchontai-apo-ta-oneira-pou-kanoume/

Chris Yonas website: https://chrisyonas.com
Chris Yonas YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@christosyonas
Nick Venner performance on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BwaZQjEbnqM

Artist biographies

Nick Venner

Nick Venner is a distinguished Greek pianist, known for his accomplished artistic career and distinctions in national and international music competitions. He began his studies at the National Conservatory and received his Piano Diploma with unanimous distinction and First Prize from the I. Syngelakis Conservatory in 2018, studying with internationally renowned pianist and educator Dimitri Toufexis. He graduated from Deree – The American College of Greece and the Open University in the United Kingdom with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, receiving magna cum laude honours and the Outstanding Senior Achievement Award for his artistic activity.

He completed a Master’s in Music Performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a scholarship from the A.G. Leventis Foundation. His competition awards include Second Prize at the V Encontro Internacional de Piano de Sardoal, the ISCART Piano Competition in Switzerland, the International Moscow Competition, and the Panhellenic UNESCO Piano Competition. In 2022, he received the Academy of Athens’ award for Piano Performance from its Class of Letters and Fine Arts.

As a soloist, he has performed at leading venues and cultural institutions in Greece and abroad, including the Athens Concert Hall, the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera, the Parnassos Literary Society, the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, Mozarteum University in Salzburg, St James’s in London, Teatro Mazzacorati 1763 in Bologna, and the Schola Cantorum in Paris. At the Schola Cantorum, studying with acclaimed piano professor Agathe Leimoni, he recently received the Diplôme Supérieur for his technical accomplishment and musical interpretation.

Chris Yonas

Chris Yonas is a distinguished Greek-Australian pianist and composer, known for his accomplished piano performances and distinctive artistic identity. He began his studies at Music Horizons Conservatory and received his Soloist Diploma in Piano with unanimous distinction and First Prize in 2016, studying with pianist and educator Betty Gaitanou-Barzouka. He completed the International Baccalaureate at Athens College and graduated from Deree – The American College of Greece (ACG), where he continued his piano studies with internationally renowned pianist and educator Dimitri Toufexis, receiving a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) and a Bachelor in Music Performance. He graduated summa cum laude and received the Deree Hood Award, the institution’s highest award, alongside the Outstanding Graduate Award (Music), Artistic Achievement Award and International Honors Award for his artistic activity and interdisciplinary academic achievement.

His international education includes studies at the University of Melbourne in Australia, Mozarteum University Salzburg in Austria, and Stanford University in the United States, where he pursued interdisciplinary studies in philosophy and mathematics.

As a soloist, he has received distinctions in national and international music competitions and performed at leading venues in Greece and abroad, including the Athens Concert Hall, the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera, the Parnassos Literary Society, the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, Mozarteum University in Austria, the Victoria College of the Arts in Melbourne, Branner Hall in San Francisco, and Vårdklockan Church on the Swedish island of Gotland.

In 2025, in recognition of his artistic activity, he was honoured with the Academy of Athens’ “Eleni Tim. Mykoniou” Artistic Award for Piano Performance, awarded by its Class of Letters and Arts.