Calliope Tsoupaki was born on May 27, 1963, in Piraeus (Greece). She has been living in the Netherlands since 1988 and teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Calliope Tsoupaki makes music that has a mood of timelessness. Her objective is expressing the essence as simply and clearly as possible. In her compositions, she uses elements of early and contemporary music as well as the music of Greece and the Middle East. Combining these aspects, she skillfully creates a completely personal style. Her music is praised for its melodic character, warm sound and emotional quality. To date her oeuvre consists of more than 100 works for diverse instrumentation and instruments from different cultures (qaunun, ney, kemençe, hurdy gurdy, vielle, viola da gamba), from solo to orchestral works, choral music, dance, theatre, opera and multisensory projects. She has developed into one of the defining composers of Dutch musical life, collaborating with, among others, Pierre Audi, Paul Koek, Jordi Savall, Kees Boeke, Frances-Marie Uitti and ensembles including the Netherlands Bach Society, Ensemble Tetraktys, Neue Vocalisten Stuttgart, Asko|Schönberg Ensemble, Nieuw Amsterdams Peil, Ergon Ensemble and Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble.