Dr. Phivos-Angelos Kollias is a Berlin/Athens-based composer and music technologist. His projects incorporate cables, sensors, code, microphones, speakers, musical instruments, and anything else that can become an interactive medium for musical expression. He studied classical and electronic composition in Cambridge, London, and Paris and completed his PhD in interdisciplinary applications of self-organization in interactive composition (Université Paris VIII) with scholarships from the Onassis Foundation, the Friends of Music Association (Alexandra Trianti), the Greek Composers Union and the Leventis Foundation.
His music is a dialogue between acoustic aesthetics, classical orchestration, noise sensibility, metal timbres, and electronic idioms. His musical curiosity is driven equally by playing with the absurd and the ridiculous, as well as exploring the depths of interdisciplinary theories and artificial intelligence technologies.
Kollias is the founder and creative director of Echorroes team, a human-centered approach to Artificial Intelligence through interactive music play for children. The project has been piloted with leading institutions such as the Greek National Opera, the Athens Digital Arts Festival, three Berlin schools (Lillebror, Tommelise, Hucky Bucky), and two Athens schools (Argyri-Laimou, Villa Aimilia). It was selected as a finalist for the NBG Seeds Innovation Competition and nominated for the S+T+ARTS Prize 2025.
He has studied classical music in Cambridge, London and Paris with the support of four prestigious foundations (Onassis Foundation, Megaron Athens Concert Hall, Leventis Foundation and Greek Composers Union) and currently lives and composes in Berlin. He studied composition with influential composers Horacio Vaggione, Jean-Luc Hervé and Yan Maresz. He has taken master classes from leading figures such as Helmut Lachenmann, Georges Aperghis, Beat Furrer, Tristan Murail, Unsuk Chin and Agostino Di Scipio.
His works have received nine awards and nine distinctions at international events (FIVARS, Iannis Xenakis Competition, Musicworks, etc.). Collaborations include ZKM, Greek National Opera, National Library of Greece, Deutscher Musikrat, Musikfonds Berlin, Dell, Transmediale, Ars Electronica, and IMPAKT. He also composes music for video games and VR installations with international teams; projects that have won twelve distinctions, from Apple TV Game of the Year to the Gamescom Indie Award, as well as mentions in Forbes lists.
EDUCATION
2010-2017. PhD in Interactive Music, Université Paris 8
2010-2013. Composition Degree (DEM), Conservatoire de Boulogne, Paris.
2006-2007. Master in Computer Assisted Composition, Université Paris 8
2003-2004. Master in Instrumental Composition, City University, London
2000-2003. Bachelor in Music, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
FUNDING
2024. Kullaaugu Music Residency, Tartu European Capital of Culture (for Rituale)
2023. European Festival Fund for Young Artists (EFFEA) (for VOICES)
2022. Private Nobiwerk Kitas, Berlin (for the Echorroes project contemporary music for children)
2022. Neukolln District Office (for Echorroes Project)
2022. DMR/NEUSTART KULTUR (Re-Start grant for the project A Festival of Insignificance)
2022: AHRC & Greenwich University (UK) (travel grant for the project Spatiality in the Audio-visual)
PRIZES/AWARDS
2025. 3rd Prize – Iannis Xenakis International Electronic Music Competition
2023. 3rd Prize – Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest, Toronto
2020. 1st Prize – Excellence in Sound Design – Festival International Virtual & Augmented Reality Stories Competition, Toronto
2012. 1st Prize – Aubagne Film Festival Competition, Aubagne, France
2009. 3rd Prize – GERMI. Competition, Rome
2009. 2nd Prize – InNova Musica Competition, Andorra
2009. 3rd Prize – Giuseppe Verdi Competition, Milan
2007. 1st Prize – Contemporary Music Workshops Competition -Megaron Concert Hall, Athens
2004. 1st Prize – Greek Festival of Chamber Music Competition, Athens
NOMINATIONS/DISTINCTIONS
2025. Nominated – S+T+ARTS Prize, EU (for Echorroes)
2024. Finalist – Onassis ONX Immersive Proof-of-Concept Competition, Athens
2024. Shortlisted – NGB Seeds Innovation Competition, Athens
2022. Electronic Music Composition Teacher of the Year, Lessonface, USA
2023. Finalist – MUSAE STARTS Residency/Competition, EU
2015. Honourable Selection – ‘Sounds of WERGO’ retrospective collection
2015. Honourable Mention – OSSIA Competition, New York
2013 Finalist – Franco Donatoni Competition, Milan
2012. Finalist – New Forum-Jeune Création Competition, Lyon
2011. Honourable Mention – Chengdu-Sun River Competition, Sichuan, China
2011. Finalist – Antonín Dvořák Competition, Czech Republic/South Korea
2011. Finalist – Ville de Nice & Alpes Maritimes Competition, Nice
2010. Honourable Mention – Free Style Competition, London
2009. Finalist – Italian Institute of Culture Competition, Melbourne
INTERACTIVE WORKS
2022-ongoing. Echorroes (Interactive Sound-Art Experience for young children), Founder, Creative Director, Concept Design, Interactive Music composition
Nominations: S+T+ARTS Prize 2025 & National Bank of Greece Seeds Innovation Competition
Funding: Greek National Opera, Cultural Center of the Neukölln Municipality and Nobiwerk Schools, Collaborators: Athens Digital Arts Festival, Berlin schools (Lillebror, Tommelise, Hucky Bucky), Athens schools (Argyri-Laimou, Villa Aimilia) and other institutions.
2025-on going. Anaphantasia, live gesture-controlled performances
2024. FAKE, multi-channel electroacoustic non-music, 3rd prize at the Iannis Xenakis International Electronic Music Competition
2024. Rituale: Deus Ex Machina Interactive Installation (smart-phones/microphones/interactive light/trees), as part of Kullaaugu Music Residency (Tartu European Capital of Culture, Estonia).
2024. ΑΙ Reconstructing Realities Online project exploring Generative AI technologies (RVC2/Voice Cloning, Generative AI Music, Face-Swapping, Open Source Generative Visual Algorithms)
2023. VOICES. Composer & team leader of Interdisciplinary team for interactive project (Music, Visuals & AI Voice cloning technologies)
Funded by European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA)
Organised by Transmediale (Berlin), IMPAKT (Utrecht), Privacy Salon (Brussels), and Werktank (Leuven).
2022. Nostophiliac AI (AI-generated Audio-Visual Experience), won the 3rd prize at the Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest, Toronto, funded by Musikfonds Berlin. Performed at: AI Music Creativity Conference-Festival (Japan); Sound-Image Festival (London); Resilience Festival of contemporary arts and electronic music (Foggia, Italy); Passages of Time/AD. Gallery, University of North Carolina (USA); Technarte Festival (Bilbao, Spain); Provocation Ideas Festival (Toronto); International Short Film Week (as part of JukeBoxx NewMusic Award), Germany; Filmgalerie Leerer Beutel cinema (Regensburg, Germany); Performing Media Festival 2024, South Bend Museum of Art, Indiana (USA).
2021. Cooking Music Algorithms (Electroacoustic Music Video Performances), commissioned by Ensemble Ipse (New York), performed at Festival Expresiones Contemporáneas (Mexico), Sound-Image Conference (London), Let Them Eat Fake/Bad Art Presents at BWG Gallery (Soho Square, London), Performing Media Festival 2024, South Bend Museum of Art, Indiana (USA).
2008-2016. Ephemeron (adaptive electroacoustic music organism), commissioned by ZKM (Karlsruhe) performed in more than 30 occasions.
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2024, 7 May-5 June – Music Residency – Kullaaugu Music Residency (Tartu, European Capital of Culture).
2023, September-December – Artist Residency funded by the German Music Council (Berlin, Germany)
2009, September. Composer Residency The Process No. 5 (Vilnius, Lithuania)
2008, April. Composer Residency Z.K.M. (Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany)