Lyre Academy

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Lyre Academy An online educational institution specialising in the study and practice of the ancient music heritage.

We offer structured education for learning to play ancient-inspired musical instruments such as lyre, ancient kithara, epigonion, frame-drums, etc.

13/08/2026

The Epitaph of Seikilos.

Preserved today at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, this small marble stele carries the oldest complete musical composition to survive with both its lyrics and melody intact.

It was a deeply moving moment to perform the song exactly where the monument now rests, letting its melody once again resonate through the sound of the ancient Greek lyre.

For a few minutes, nearly two thousand years seemed to disappear.

Music has an extraordinary way of connecting us, not only with one another, but with those who came before us. And standing before the Epitaph of Seikilos, we were reminded that some melodies are simply too beautiful to be forgotten.

🎵 “While you live, shine.
Have no grief at all.
Life exists only for a short while,
and time demands its due.”

📍 National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen

13/08/2026

Some instruments invite you to play them. Others invite you to explore them.

Here, Lina Palera improvises on the Leiden Lyre at the SEIKILO Museum of Ancient Music, letting the instrument lead the way through its colors, resonances, and possibilities.

And listen closely until the end: Lina begins to move the lyre itself, subtly changing the pitch as she plays, turning movement into part of the music.

Ancient instruments were never meant to remain silent behind glass. They were made to vibrate, to be experimented with, and to keep revealing new sounds in the hands of musicians today.

🎶 Lina Palera
🏛️ SEIKILO Museum of Ancient Music
🪕 Leiden Lyre

13/08/2026

A lyre has just arrived at your door. 🏺
What should you do next?

Receiving a handcrafted instrument is much more than opening a package. The first inspection, the first tuning, the way you handle and store your lyre, all of these can make a real difference.

In our new Lyre Unboxing Guide, we share what we believe every lyre owner should know:
• What to check before opening the package
• Why your lyre arrives untuned
• How to approach the first tuning
• Common mistakes to avoid
• How to care for your instrument for years to come
• When and why you should contact your luthier

And perhaps most importantly: what really separates a premium handcrafted lyre from a mass-produced instrument?

Whether you already own a lyre or are thinking of buying your first one, we made this guide for you.
🎥 Watch the full video on our SEIKILO YouTube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGFeJPlGzgQ&t=1678s .
🏺 Handcrafted lyres by Luthieros Music Instruments - Οργανοποιία "Αναστάσιος"
🎓 Learn to play at Lyre Academy
🏛 Ancient music & instruments at Seikilo

A lyre can accompany you for decades. The journey begins the moment she arrives.


24/07/2026

Homer’s Odyssey — The Traveller’s Lyre

For nearly 3,000 years, Homer’s epic has inspired readers, artists, and storytellers around the world.

As audiences prepare to rediscover the Odyssey through Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, we wanted to explore another side of the journey: its music.

The Traveller’s Lyre is a short cinematic journey through the world of Odysseus, experienced through one of its most iconic instruments: the ancient Greek lyre.
Filmed almost entirely in camera using a probe lens, the handcrafted lyre becomes an immense landscape of wood, strings, light, and shadow. Rather than retelling the story, the film invites you to experience its atmosphere through sound, voice, and one of the oldest musical traditions of ancient Greece.

The instrument featured is the Traveller’s Lyre (Lyre of Odysseus), handcrafted by LUTHIEROS in Greece.

🎵 Ending theme: “Valorous” by Lina Palera, from the album Pandora.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who brought this journey to life:
🎬 Direction, Editing & Color Grading: Nikolaos Koumartzis
🎥 Cinematography: Thanos Tsigkas
🎧 Sound Design: Evagoras Bekiaris
📖 Narrative Adaptation: Nikolaos Koumartzis & Fotis Giantsios
🏛 Research: Fotis Giantsios
🎬 1st Assistant Camera: Alex Pavlaras
🎙 Voice Acting: Rick Browning & Elizabeth Copnall
🎼 Instrument: The Koumartzis Family – LUTHIEROS Ancient Greek Lyres

▶️ Watch the complete film on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dQIL87foI8

Have you ever imagined what the music of Odysseus’ world might have sounded like?

The Ancient Greek lyre for the first time live at in London!Yesterday’s interview at In Tune radio show with Katie Derh...
23/07/2026

The Ancient Greek lyre for the first time live at in London!

Yesterday’s interview at In Tune radio show with Katie Derham followed by the live performance of and on the ancient lyre of Orpheus and the lyre of Olympus, achieved a new milestone for the revival of the lyre. What’s more, meeting the legendary Roger Short in person and sharing the next releases of , the research of and the new collaborations of Seikilo Museum will be something to remember for the rest of our lives.

You can listen it at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002xncy

Rhythmic Elements for the Lyre PlayerTo be a musician, as we are always insisting, implies much more than a knowledge of...
12/06/2026

Rhythmic Elements for the Lyre Player

To be a musician, as we are always insisting, implies much more than a knowledge of Harmony, which is only one part of the musician’s equipment, on the same level as the sciences of Rhythm, of Meter, of Instruments. — Aristoxenus of Tarentum
In our endeavour to rediscover ancient Greek music, Aristoxenus of Tarentum is without a doubt the most valuable source. A researcher of mousikē, which in ancient times encompassed all the Muses’ gifts—song, dance, and poetry—Aristoxenus sought to study and explain the underlying rhythmic patterns that govern them all, starting at the beginning, with the metric podas or foot, and advancing to the complexities of rhythmical structure.
All these he included in his work Rhythmic Elements, the second most important—after Harmonic Elements—of his surviving treatises. This seminal work remains the most important resource on rhythm for the student of ancient music, who faces, however, an almost insurmountable problem.

Available to order only at:
https://luthieros.com/product/rhythmic-elements-for-the-lyre-player/

11/06/2026

A Summer Camp for Lyre Players

🏛️ ☀️ Find out more at https://lyreacademy.com/camp/
🧿 Book your spot now!

🏛️ ☀️ Lyre Summer School 2025 is announced! The 2024 camp was an amazing experience! 25 students from all over the world traveled to Aegina Island for seven days of intense lyre lessons that transformed them into competent lyre players!
They met the forefront of the world lyre community, including top lyre players (Lina Palera, Theodore Koumartzis, and Thanasis Kleopas), the lead filmmaker of SEIKILO Channel, and the Master Luthier of the LUTHIEROS family.
The camp was hosted in a magical place, the majestic Oikia Karapanou.

Save the 2025 summer camp dates: May 25 to June 1, Aegina Island!
🏃‍♀️ Find out more & book your spot at https://lyreacademy.com/camp/

🔴 For more videos like this, subscribe to our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/seikilo?sub_confirmation=1

⚫ Find the perfect lyre for you at https://luthieros.com/

🔵 Learn how to play the lyre and other ancient musical instruments at
https://lyreacademy.com/choose-your-next-course/

👍 Follow us on Facebook:
https://el-gr.facebook.com/seikilo/

❤️ Follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/luthieros/?hl=en

🔴 For more videos like this, subscribe to our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/seikilo?sub_confirmation=1

🟢 SEIKILO is on Spotify too! Follow us at https://open.spotify.com/artist/6BeEN6EDTHO3ezHBkN161X

11/06/2026

“No one returns, and no one lives again.”�— Inscription on the Leiden Lyre

This is a replica of the Leiden Lyre, one of the most significant surviving examples of ancient Egyptian lyres, dating to 1550–1350 BCE, at the dawn of the New Kingdom, an era during which ancient Egypt stood at the height of its power and cultural influence.

Egyptian box lyres appear in ancient depictions being played in banquet ensembles. She features a rectangular soundbox, often with a small carved notch along the upper edge to accommodate the player’s wrist, two arms of unequal length inserted through the upper edge of the body, and a yoke set at a slight angle. Surviving archaeological examples indicate between 6 and 10 strings.

This is our first prototype and is already exploring the sound possibilities of this beauty!

11/06/2026

🎶 7 strings. Infinite sound.
In this short performance, Lina Palera reveals the true power of the ancient lyre—an instrument over 2,500 years old that still challenges and inspires modern musicians.

From shimmering harmonics and rich arpeggios to muted chords, microtonal shifts, and rapid tremolo-style finger rolls, the lyre proves it’s anything but simple. Advanced players can unlock up to 14 distinct notes on a single string.

🎸 Guitarist? String player? Curious musician?
This might change the way you hear everything.

👇 Start your journey
Learn the lyre: https://lyreacademy.com/
Find your instrument: https://luthieros.com/
More music: https://youtube.com/seikilo?sub_confirmation=1
🏺 Lyre by LUTHIEROS
🎼 Performed by Lina Palera
🎬 Film by Nikolaos Koumartzis
🎥 Yiannis Karakatsianis

🎶 LUTHIEROS & SEIKILO ARE COMING TO LONDON 🇬🇧We are delighted to announce that on June 22, 2026, the ancient Greek lyre ...
11/06/2026

🎶 LUTHIEROS & SEIKILO ARE COMING TO LONDON 🇬🇧

We are delighted to announce that on June 22, 2026, the ancient Greek lyre will be presented for the very first time at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, one of Europe’s most historic and respected music conservatoires.

This invitation is a true honor for us and an important milestone for the revival of the ancient Greek lyre.

As part of the Guildhall Harp Festival 2026, Theodore Koumartzis and Lina Palera from the Seikilo Culture Organization will offer two special events:
🏛️ Meet the Ancestors! A Hands-On Workshop with Ancient Greek Lyres
🕚 11:30–12:30
An interactive workshop where participants will have the opportunity to explore and play authentic replicas of ancient Greek lyres, discovering the instruments that inspired generations of string instruments throughout history.

🎼 Echoes of Antiquity – Music for the Ancient Greek Lyre
🕑 14:15–15:15
A recital by Lina Palera and Theodore Koumartzis featuring reconstructed ancient melodies and contemporary compositions performed on authentic replicas of ancient Greek lyres handcrafted by the LUTHIEROS workshop.

For more than twenty years, our family has been researching, reconstructing and performing on ancient musical instruments. To bring the sound of the ancient Greek lyre to Guildhall for the first time is both a privilege and a responsibility that we deeply appreciate.

📍 Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London
📅 Monday, 22 June 2026
Workshop places are limited and advance booking is required:
📧 [email protected]
More information:
🔗 Workshop:
https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/whats-on/harp-festival-meet-ancestors-hands-workshop-ancient-greek-lyres
🔗 Recital:
https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/whats-on/harp-festival-echoes-antiquity-music-ancient-greek-lyre
We look forward to sharing the sounds of antiquity with the Guildhall community and everyone joining us in London.

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Filippou 5
Thessaloníki
54630

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