The Maria Callas Museum Brings Music To the Children of “Agia Sofia” Children’s Hospital

The Maria Callas Museum is expanding its mission beyond its walls, reaching young patients at the “Agia Sofia” Children’s Hospital with a unique and inspiring educational program titled "The Power of My Voice – A Musical Journey with the Maria Callas Museum."

True to its educational and social mission, the Museum is stepping into new territory, offering hospitalized children a chance to explore creativity, self-expression, and communication through the universal language of music.

This original music-education program is specially designed for children staying at the hospital. It includes musical improvisation, theatrical play, and visual arts activities, all aimed at encouraging self-discovery and emotional expression. Each child even gets the chance to create their own musical composition, which is recorded and gifted to them – a personal keepsake from a moment of inspiration.

What makes this initiative even more special is that authentic items from the museum’s collection – such as photographs, annotated scores donated by the Hellenic Maria Callas Association, and Maria Callas’ own leather gloves, a gift from Konstantinos and Viktoria Pylarinou – are brought directly into the hospital space. Children are given the rare opportunity to see these cultural treasures up close, forging a personal connection with the legacy of one of the world’s greatest opera icons.

In this way, the performing arts become not just accessible, but deeply meaningful and experiential.

This touching initiative is the result of close collaboration between the Maria Callas Museum’s experienced team and composer/music educator Markella Skourti, founder of AMKE “The Path of Music.”

The project was warmly embraced by the hospital’s administrative board and the Head of the Nursing Services Department, Ms. Efrosyni Vlachioti, making it possible to bring this program to life in a nurturing and supportive environment.

Two workshops have already taken place, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback and proving just how impactful exposure to the arts can be in boosting emotional resilience and sparking joy in children’s lives.

This initiative is part of the Maria Callas Museum’s broader outreach strategy, which continuously invests in sharing its cultural identity through innovative methods. By bringing music, art, and legacy to communities that need it most, the Museum redefines what it means to be a truly public cultural institution.