The Athens Choral Group) by Miranda Villiers, the wife
of the then Assistant Director of the British Council in
Athens. In those days the British Council still supported
small-scale local cultural initiatives of this kind and still
had its own auditorium. It was there that the choir's first concert, a programme of Christmas carols, was presented, as well as most of it performances for many years thereafter.
The choir was formed with the primary purpose of singing for pleasure, with public performances a secondary consideration. The number of singers fluctuated but remained low, usually between eight and sixteen, with high standards of singing and sight-reading.
The first conductor was Michael Llewellyn Smith, an English historian living in Athens to do research for a doctoral dissertation on Modern Greek history.
Next came Robert Brenton Betts, an American historian, ex-diplomat and highly accomplished musician (organist, conductor, singer, arranger), who was the regular director intil his departure from Greece in 1982. During this period the choir also sang frequently under the baton of Diamantis Diamantopoulos, an assistant conductor with the Athens State Orchestra, who took over as the choir's permanent director from 1982 until the end of 1983.
After a brief interregnum of just after a year with no regular director, the position was filled from 1985 to 1989 by Roger Tilley, a teacher at one of the international schools in Athens, whose musical interests cover singing, conducting, playing the organ and piano and composing.
Since 1990, except for the 1996-97 season under Bill Warren, the permanent director of the Athens Singers has been Carole Johns to be followed by Barbara Gray from 2004 to 2007.
Since autunm 2007 the new Music Director of The Athens Singers is once again, Roger Tilley.
Others who have conducted one or more performances include:
David Blewitt (1968-1969), Kenneth Irvine (1969), Harold Lynn (1971-1975), Michael Llewellyn Smith again (1980-1982), Lyn Parker (1981-1984), Veronica Phillipson (1982), John Trevitt (1984-1985 and 1988-1989), Nicholas Armour (1985), Graham Rogers, Michael Roberts, Larry Tharp (1990), Stephen Atherton (1995), Douglas Fisher (1995) and Werner Eichkorn (1998).
Roger Tilley Bio:
Roger Tilley was born in Birmingham, England in 1957. He studied the church organ under Timothy Lees and was appointed organist of St James’ church Dudley at the age of 17. From 1975-79 he was organist of the Wills Memorial Chapel of the university of Bristol. For part of that time he was also assistant organist of the Catholic cathedral in Bristol.
From 1980-83 he held the post of organist at Chippefield just outside London, while also conducting the Exultate singers each summer at Bath Abbey.
Roger arrived in Athens in September 1983.
He first conducted The Athens Singers for their Christmas concert in 1984 and remained as director
until 1989. He has been the organist of the American Church in Athens since 1983.
As of September 2007 he has taken up a second term as director of The Athens Singers.
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