Yannis Mantakas (1932 – 1998) was a distinguished contemporary musician, music educator, and choir conductor. As a law student in 1953, he founded the Choir of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and served as its conductor from 1953 to 1993. He was also the director of the Macedonian Conservatory from 1966 to 1979. He taught music at the School of Education of AUTH from 1985 to 1993.
He was born in Thessaloniki on March 4. His father, Nikolaos, was originally from Chania, Crete, and his family played an active role in the Revolution, the Macedonian Struggle, and the National Resistance. His mother, Margarita, was the daughter of Argyrios Zachos, who, as a diplomat, offered his services to the Macedonian Struggle alongside Ion Dragoumis. These roots directed his interest toward the history of his homeland, the arts, and European culture, shaping him into a cosmopolitan individual with open-minded ideas and refined aesthetic sensibilities.
He began formal music studies under the guidance of Epameinondas Floros, director of the Macedonian Conservatory, and his son Konstantinos. He attended classes in Counterpoint, Fugue, and Choir Conducting.
He began writing music criticism articles for the newspapers of Thessaloniki, a practice he continued until 1978. Over the years, he collaborated with the newspapers “To Fos”, “Nea Alitheia”, “Makedonia”, and “Ellinikos Vorras”.
Already a law student, he founded the Choir of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), and shortly afterward, the Music Department of the University Student Club of AUTH. This area became his primary field of activity, for which he received the greatest recognition for his contribution to Greece’s musical life. He revitalized choral music by introducing new repertoire and presenting many premieres of Greek and international works, especially from the Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary periods. He organized numerous concerts and events in Thessaloniki, Athens, and many other cities across Greece.
At the same time, he participated consistently in major international choral festivals. He produced several recordings, numerous radio and television programs, music publications, choir gatherings, music education seminars, and choral music workshops. All these activities continued uninterrupted until 1993.
A regular collaborator with the National Radio Foundation and the Radio Station of Macedonia, he presented a series of programs through which he showcased the work of dozens of Greek composers and documented the history of Greece’s musical avant-garde of the 20th century. His collaboration with radio ended in 1991.
He becomes a member of the Union of Greek Theatre and Music Critics. He completes his military service and studies theory and choir conducting in Germany with H. Lemacher and K. Thomas.
He founded the Choir of the Radio Station of Macedonia.
He attended a seminar in Germany on the Carl Orff music education system.
His daughter Margarita was born, who is now a prominent choreographer. He began his international presence by participating in events of the European Federation of Youth Choirs, Europa Cantat. As part of this collaboration, which lasted until 1991, he gave concerts with the Choir of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in Nevers, France; Brussels and Namur, Belgium; Graz, Austria; Munich, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Koblenz, Germany; Basel and Lucerne, Switzerland; Aarhus, Denmark; Barcelona, Spain; and Leicester, United Kingdom. He also organized and conducted international choral workshops and was recognized across Europe as one of the leading experts in the field of contemporary choral music. He attended Contemporary Music courses in Athens with Yiannis A. Papaioannou. In collaboration with musicologist Uwe Martin, he founded the Contemporary Music Workshop at the Goethe Institute in Thessaloniki.
He organized the first ‘International Choral Week’ in Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the European Federation of Youth Choirs, Europa Cantat. Three more events followed in 1980, 1983, and 1986.
He participated in the ‘Greek Weeks of Contemporary Music,’ where he presented the premiere performances of works by contemporary Greek and international composers.
Director of the Macedonian Conservatory of Thessaloniki. From this position, he worked systematically and achieved significant reforms in the curriculum of conservatory education in Greece. He frequently participated in committees and working groups of the Ministries of Culture and Education, as well as in music education conferences and seminars abroad.
His second daughter, Chrysa, was born, who is a distinguished set and costume designer.
Member of the Board of Directors and President of the Greek Section of the International Heinrich Schütz Society.
Invited by the Lincoln Center in New York and the State Department’s Cultural Exchange Program, he visited university faculties and institutions in Washington, Florida, Atlanta, Michigan, Bloomington, and Philadelphia, with the aim of studying American music education while also promoting contemporary Greek musical creation.
He was, for many years, a member of the Board of Directors of ETOS (Special Fund for Concert Organization) of the State Orchestra of Thessaloniki and a member of the Artistic Committee of the Young Artists’ Week at the Thessaloniki International Fair.
He taught music at the School of Education of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH).
Director of the Municipal Conservatory of Kavala. He organized the Kavala Music Camp, with the participation of students from conservatories across the country, a tradition that continues to this day.
He was afflicted by a rare motor neuron disease.
He passed away in Thessaloniki on December 26.