Ifiyenia Spiliotopoulou was born and grew up in Athens, Greece, where she studied first the piano and then the flute.

 

After obtaining her diploma as a Montessori kindergarden teacher in England, she returned to Greece and completed her flute teaching and performing diplomas at the Athenaeum Conservatory with distinction, in the class of Stella Gadedi.

 

Working as a kindergarden teacher, she also started teaching the flute.   She entered the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra after a competition, where she remained  for 17 years, playing 3rd flute and 1st piccolo.

 

Already as a student, she took part in many concerts and recitals.  She also took lessons with Pierre-Yves Artaud and participated in seminars and master-classes, with Andras Andorjan, William Bennett, Robert Aitken, Andrea Kroeper, Benoit Fromanger, Rachel Brown and Trevor Wye.

 

She has performed in many concerts and recitals over the years, in Greece, France, England, Marocco and recently Aizerbaijan, either solo with piano, or as a member of various chamber ensembles, and has played as a guest in other orchestras. As a soloist she has performed with the Orchestra of Patras.  She has also made recordings for the Greek National Radio.  Currently, she is performing with the Trio Elegeia (flute, oboe, piano).

 

Teaching has been as important as playing.  The Montessori method helped her individualize her teaching, adapting to each student's level and capabilities.  It also led her to study posture and abdominal breathing in depth.

 

The results of this experience have been 2 publications (so far): The "Simple scales on the G clef" (currently beeing re-edited), and the "Controlling my Breath, controlling my music", a beginners' book on abdominal breathing (see links).

 

After leaving the orchestra, she worked for some years at the production/managing team of the Greek Radio Orchestras and Choir, as well as at the educational programs, introducing visiting schoolchildren to the orchestral instruments and the orchestras.

 

When her children were young, she initiated and co-produced a cd with popular greek childrens' songs.