She has collaborated with various distinguished musicians including the Endymion Ensemble, Stephen Gutman, Richard Benjafield (commission for performance during the Harrison Birtwistle Weekend 2005), the North Texas Ensemble, Sentieri Selvaggi (performance during their “Il Femminile” music season in Italy, April 2006), the Athens Trio, the Guildhall Percussion Ensemble and the Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble Wien (her trio for clarinet, piano and violoncello Simul: Lumini, Sombri was selected for the Labyrinthmaker Project 2006, a concert series performed in twelve countries, in venues such as the Manuel de Falla Concert Hall Madrid, the Portogruaro Concert Hall Italy, the Düsseldorfer Tonhallethe, Kulturhaus Lüdenscheid etc).  

Her commissioned works include: Ita Vivam,, an one-Act Opera commissioned by the Guildhall School for graduating singers, premiered in London with the composer conducting (March 2004), Iniochos, a work for Symphonic Brass Ensemble commissioned and premiered by the Connecting Arts in London directed by Paul Cosh (January 2006), the Brass Octet Cantus Cyprius, based on traditional Christmas carols of Cyprus, commissioned by the Foundation Adkins-Chiti and performed by the Borealis Brass during the concert series ‘Musica Nuova Per Natale 2006’ in Italy, Absit Omen, for trumpet and piano commissioned and performed by the internationally acclaimed British musicians Paul Archibald and Juliet Edwards in the Dartington Hall, U.K. (August 2007) and others. 

Exploring mainly the contemporary repertoire, Christina Athinodorou is also active as a conductor, having directed various pieces of composers of today. Markedly she could be seen conducting first performances of her own music, more notably her opera and orchestral works.  

In 2006 she became the winner of the Aldworth Philharmonic Young Composers’ Award which led to the creation of a series of pieces for the orchestra all performed with the composer at the podium. After Naked Branches I for String Orchestra and Sword Dance for Percussion Ensemble (performed in May and October 2006 respectively), she completed her final commission, a new symphonic piece. Reverse Rivers ‘Images of Euboea‘ was generously applauded in the Reading Concert Hall in January 2007.  

Her symphonic work Overture for the Red Rain received its first performance by the joined forces of the St Albans Symphony Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia, during their New Music Day (September 2007), also conducted by the composer.  

Christina’s works could also be heard in the 2005 Young Composers’ New Year Symposium organized by the Park Lane Group and led by composers Paul Patterson and Diana Burrell, the 125th Anniversary Guildhall School of Music and Drama New Music Festival 2005, the Czech Republic Festival Forfest 2006, the Hellenic Centre, the Henry Wood Hall London, St Giles’ Cripplegate, the London Contemporary Dance School, Teatro Dal Verme Milano, Teloglion Foundation of Fine Arts (performance after receiving a Panhellenic Prize for her work Strofi,  in the Chamber Music Composition Competition 2005 for the 20th Foundation Anniversary of the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, selection having been made amongst anonymous submissions), Spaziomusica Festival Cagliari 2008 and elsewhere.

She has also worked with many young talented artists: violinist Alda Dizdari (Aosmon for Solo Violin, premiered at The Warehouse London, November 2008) , guitarist Nikos Zarkos (Wasted Window, “Greek Guitar Music of the 21^st Century” project, Athens), clarinetist Richard Russell (Riddle for solo clarinet and wind orchestra, performed in Southampton, U.K.), choreographer Jamie Boylan (In Vein, for vocalist, chamber ensemble and six dancers), Duo Disecheis (award-winning saxophonist David Brutti and pianist Filippo Farinelli, who gave the first performance of Saxum during the Italia Wave Festival-ClassicWave 2007 in association with Nuovi Eventi Musicali, Florence, July 2007), soprano Katerina Mina, pianist Lefki Karpodini and others.  

Christina has attended masterclasses, workshops and seminars by Phillippe Leroux, Peter Sculthorpe, John Casken, Ivar Frounberg, Judith Bingham, Alexander Goehr, Simone Fontanelli, Menachem Wiesenberg, James MacMillan (Piccolo Teatro, Milan, 2006), Alessandro Solbiati, Sylvano Bussotti, Levon Parikian (conducting, London Phoenix Orchestra), Tapio Tuomela (orchestral workshop, Festival Musiikin Aika), Peter Stark (conducting masterclass,University of Oxford) and Sarah Walker (Creative Voices, ‘Composing for the Voice’ classes) amongst others.  

Recently, she received invitations to work as a guest conductor with the Haslemere Symphony Orchestra and to present her music in a short composer portrait event during the EKON Greek Cultural Festival of Arts held in London. Latest performances included two new orchestral works: Black Circles with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra during their “Young Rising Artists Concert Series” and Quatre Silences with the Jyväskylä Sinfonia that was conducted by the composer during the Viitasaari Time of Music Festival in Finland. A commission by Ensemble Sentieri Selvaggi, Christina’s chamber music work Aktaí  received its first performance during the MITO Settembre Musica Festival Internazionale 2008. 

Acknowledgements: Royal Holloway University of London, The Cyprus Ministry of Finance, The Co-Operative Society of Geroskipou, The European Erasmus Commission.