The Story Behind the Music

Meet Mina — the founder and artistic heart of Piano for Hope.

How it all began

Mina’s journey with the piano began at a very young age. Her competition journey started in 2018, followed by performances, festivals and musical encounters in Greece and abroad.

Studies and journey

Since the age of five, Mina has grown up with music, exploring different sounds, schools of interpretation and cultures through the piano, on an artistic journey that has taken her to major stages in Greece and abroad.

Her artistic journey includes performances at Carnegie Hall, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music and the Greek Cultural Center in New York, where she has given two solo recitals, as well as the Athens Concert Hall, the B. & M. Theocharakis Foundation and the Maria Callas Museum. She has also participated in international festivals and academies, including Poros Piano Academy and the All-Juilliard Faculty Festival in New York.

In 2024, she received a distinction in the International Young Musicians Competition (IYMC) and was invited to give a solo recital at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York.

In 2025, she gave a solo recital at the Goethe-Institut Athen as part of Piano City Athens. That same year, she was named Most Distinguished Musician at the IBLA Grand Prize International Competition and Festival in Ragusa Ibla, Sicily. She also received a distinction in the Tiziano Rossetti Academy’s international competition in Lugano, Switzerland, and was selected from hundreds of candidates for the Academy’s Career Project, with an invitation to give a solo recital at the International Piano Festival in Lugano.

In 2026, she participated as a Rising Star in Piano City Athens, performing works by J. S. Bach, Moritz Moszkowski, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin and Claude Debussy. In March 2026, she was invited to give a solo recital at the Royal Academy of Music in London as part of her distinction in the International Young Musicians Competition.

That same year, she received a distinction in the Royal Foundation of Music and Arts international competition in New York and was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall. She was also selected to participate in the Samson François International Piano Competition in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, in July 2026.

Her competition journey began in 2018 with a distinction in the “De Bach au Jazz” International Piano Competition. Since then, she has received distinctions in international competitions including the Euterpe International Music Awards, Vienna International Music Competition, London Classical Music Competition, Nouvelles Étoiles International Piano Competition, WPTA Spain International Piano Competition, Medici International Music Competition and International Piano Competition “Città di Spoleto” in Italy. In 2021, she won first prize in the second musicArte Panhellenic Piano Competition, as well as the Special Award for Best Artistic Interpretation.

From a very young age, she has also participated in music-theatre productions by Magda Mavrogianni and Classic Music Box, devoted to the lives and works of major composers including Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Robert and Clara Schumann, and Franz Liszt.

Working with internationally recognised pianists and teachers is an important part of her artistic education. She has attended masterclasses with The Juilliard School faculty members Jerome Lowenthal, Aaron Wunsch and Mika Sasaki, and has also studied with Liliya Boyadjieva, Natalia Lebedeva, Denis Chefanov, Uwe Matschke, Alexia Mouza and Christine Tokatlian.

Teacher and pianist Maria Papadatou holds a special place in this journey. She has been by Mina’s side since the age of five, guiding her with dedication, knowledge and belief in her abilities. Through her guidance, Mina has enjoyed unique musical experiences and performed on major international stages, taking part in competitions, masterclasses and academies, gaining artistic knowledge and developing a deeper relationship with music.

Through all these experiences, Mina realised that music’s greatest value lies not in distinctions or major stages, but in its power to touch souls, build bridges of communication and offer hope.

This is how Piano for Hope was born.

An international initiative that aspires to bring together young musicians from Greece and around the world, turning music into an act of connection, solidarity and social contribution.

Through charitable concerts, educational activities and cultural initiatives, Piano for Hope aims to support children, young people and social groups who need opportunities, support and hope.

Because music can travel beyond borders, languages and differences.

One Piano. Many Hearts. A World of Hope.

A vision for the future

Mina dreams of Piano for Hope building bridges between music, education and social responsibility — showing that a young artist can combine excellence with empathy, ambition with giving, and talent with purpose.

Her journey is not only about reaching the highest notes. It is about using those notes to touch people.

Her journey

Milestones from the first steps at the piano to Carnegie Hall.

Awards and distinctions

This is the journey that brought Mina here. Today, she chooses to use music for a higher purpose — beyond the stage and recognition — for solidarity, empathy, peace and hope. To make music a way to give, to unite and to build bridges between people.

Participation and musical experiences

Masterclasses