It was in 2005, one night in the tavern of Vatzoulias in Aegina, with a group of friends. Dora Bakopoulou, who had just bought a house on the island, was telling us how happy she was to spend more time here. But she told us that "I can't sit around doing nothing... We have to have a classical music festival". And she did!

It's been 20 years. The festival has established itself in the cultural events of Aegina and has an international reputation. The unforgettable moments are many. I am grateful to Dora for putting the idea on the table that night.

Friends got together, became "Friends of the Festival" and embraced it with love and appetite. Initially, the concerts were held on the beach of Aura and in the small theatre of Jason Molfessis in Pachia Rachi, in the garden of our house. An old threshing floor, which our good friend Jason Molfesis had the bright idea to turn into a small arena: "People should gather here, communicate, talk..."

I still remember one afternoon, in my car, Dora and I were looking for an extra venue, smaller than the Aura, for concerts. My eye had taken a corner at the back of the prison, in the courtyard of the Church of the Savior. We went to see it together. That was it! The courtyard became the third site of the festival - a very special setting like the other two.

Recently, a musician friend of mine was telling me that artists, when we have an idea or a project in mind, we only realize it with an enthusiasm similar to that of love, which overcomes obstacles. Just like a man in love...

He's absolutely right.
The Aegina International Music Festival is the fruit of such a love affair.

photo: Spyros Pantelakis