Supporters
Musicians, educators and friends of Piano for Hope share their voices for music, solidarity and hope. Their messages are published here after review and with their consent.
Dr. Christine Tokatlian
Concert Pianist; Associate Professor at Deree-The American College of Greece
I am deeply moved by Piano for Hope and, above all, by the young person behind it.
It is rare to see a teenager devote her talent and energy to something so noble — not simply following her own artistic path, but choosing to give, connect, inspire and create something meaningful for others.
What Mina has envisioned goes far beyond music. It is about bringing people together, creating moments of joy and hope, and reminding us of the values our world needs so deeply today: inclusion, diversity, empathy and solidarity.
Using your abilities not only for personal achievement, but also as a means of enriching your community, is truly remarkable.
Hats off to Mina for having the vision, heart and courage to transform music into an act of generosity. May Piano for Hope continue to flourish and touch countless lives, one note at a time. ❤️🎹
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
Auguste Corteau
Writer
Music unites people and brings them release.
Translated from Greek.
Vasiliki Chalkidou
Creator, Novus Mente
As an educator and a citizen of our beautiful Greece, I always feel hope and inspiration when I see young people taking initiatives for a better world. The messages of music can be heard in every language. They are heard by people, plants and animals. What could be more beautiful than generously offering this pleasure to everyone? Bravo, Mina. I support your work and look forward to being part of it.
Translated from Greek.
Nicolas Bringuier
Pianist · Professor at the École Normale de Musique de Paris
Dear Mina,
I was delighted to meet you at the Samson François competition in Cagnes-sur-Mer, and I am particularly moved to discover today the project you have imagined with Piano for Hope.
At your age, already understanding that music is not just about playing on a stage, but can also be a way to reach out to others, create connections and bring a little hope, is something precious.
The piano teaches us many things: listening, sensitivity, patience, but also the ability to convey something deeply personal without needing words. If Piano for Hope can bring this music to people who need it, then it will take on an even more beautiful dimension.
I sincerely wish you every success in growing this project with all the passion and generosity that seem to inspire it. Above all, hold on to this conviction: music can change far more than we imagine when it is carried by the heart.
With all my friendship and encouragement, Nicolas
Translated from French.
Maria Papadatou
Pianist, Piano Teacher, Author of Educational Books
Mina is a gifted girl who started playing the piano as a preschooler and is now in her first year of senior high school! I have the joy and honour of accompanying her as her piano teacher throughout this wonderful journey. I remember her first ‘big’ concert at the Athens Concert Hall, in a musical theatre production about the life of Frédéric Chopin, where, at just seven years old, she played an arrangement of the famous Minute Waltz, op. 64 no. 1… She was so focused and dedicated, and her bright future was already evident! Since then, I have watched her grow through music: struggle with difficult passages, persevere, search for her own sound and, eventually, find it. It is wonderful to record this journey, because the piano is a very large part of her life, with so many successes; beyond those successes, it is part of her identity!
Piano for Hope is a website that shows Mina’s wonderful piano journey while also proposing a selfless sharing, full of vision, hope and empathy… the magic of music and its freely offered gift to all of us, through the talent and spontaneity of this extraordinary child on her path towards adolescence and adulthood. Mina understood early on that music finds its true meaning when it is shared. As her teacher, I feel deeply proud, and I am certain that every note she plays for this cause will touch hearts.
My dear Mina, from that first waltz until today, I have been by your side with all my heart. Let us all become ‘Supporters’ of her endeavour — she deserves it!!
Translated from Greek.
Petros Kapsaskis
President of EIPD
Congratulations on this lovely endeavour, and congratulations to the family for their sensitivity and care. Keep going!
Translated from Greek.
Peli Galiti
Psychopedagogue
‘Bravo, Mina! A wonderful initiative, with sensitivity and real care for people.’
Translated from Greek.
Dr Maria Alvanou
Criminologist
At a time when violence and crime weigh on society, an initiative of hope through music recalls the words of Leonard Bernstein after the assassination of J.F. Kennedy: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
Translated from Greek.
Athanasia (Sasha) Taktikou White
Legal Director, Philanthropist, Pianist and Mother
Music was the first language I learned.
I started playing the piano at the age of five, and today, at fifty, I realise that for 45 years the piano has not simply been a musical instrument in my life. It has been a friend, a companion, a refuge and a way of expressing myself when words were not enough.
Later I wanted to pass this love of music on to my daughters, because I have always believed that music is not only knowledge or art. It is a whole way of feeling, communicating, understanding the world and, above all, connecting with people.
Living in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates for the last 23 years, far from Greece and often far from my family and everything familiar, the piano has stayed steadily by my side. In the good times and in the most difficult moments, it was always there. And there were times when, as my longing for family and homeland grew stronger, I would sit at the piano and familiar melodies would return to my fingers almost by themselves, played from memory. It was as if I were returning home, even for a little while.
That is why Mina’s initiative with Piano for Hope touches me so deeply.
Mina, you truly deserve warm congratulations. Not only for your talent, but even more for your choice to turn it into giving. At a time when we often teach young people to pursue only personal success, you remind us of something much greater: that the true value of a gift also lies in the way we share it.
Leadership has no age. It begins the moment someone decides to use their voice, their talent and their presence to create something positive for others. And that is exactly what you are doing through Piano for Hope.
Keep playing, dreaming, giving and bringing people closer through music. Because sometimes a familiar melody can remind us who we are, where we come from, whom we love and that, even in the most difficult moments, there is always room for hope.
With all my heart, congratulations on this wonderful initiative. I hope Piano for Hope grows, travels and touches people all over the world.
Athanasia (Sasha) Taktikou White
Translated from Greek.
Vasiliki Ampelaki
Lawyer
A wonderful idea that, through music, will try to embrace and offer hope to those who need it. Wishing your endeavour a wonderful journey, my dear Mina.
Translated from Greek.
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