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M and S - The Art of Music and Science

Dr Marianna Kapsetaki is a medical doctor, neuroscientist, and classical pianist.

 

She was born in Heraklion, Crete. She started playing piano at the age of 9 with a full scholarship from the Minoan Conservatory of Heraklion where she obtained a Piano Soloist Diploma (1st Hons, Distinction, and 1st Prize) and a Diploma in Music Theory (Harmony; 1st Hons) at the age of 17 with teacher Kallia Anastasaki. She further enriched her musical knowledge with lessons with Dimitris Toufexis until 2013 and then with Professor Emeritus of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Christopher Elton.

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Following her Medical Degree (1st Hons) from the University of Crete, she obtained a MSc (Distinction) in Performing Arts Medicine from University College London, a PhD (no corrections) in Neuroscience from Imperial College London, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at University College London. She recently undertook a Clinical Observership in Functional Neurosurgery at St George's Hospital (London), and is currently undertaking specialty training in Neurosurgery and a MSc in Clinical and Experimental Neurosurgery (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens).

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She has been presented with over 120 awards and scholarships in science and music, such as 1st prize in 12 international and national piano competitions, the Parisianou S.A. Award, the Hilda Martindale UK Award, the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine Award for Best MSc dissertation, the Ede & Ravenscroft Music Bursary Award, the Director's Award of the Blyth Centre of Music and Visual Arts in London, the Felix Marr Award, the UNESCO Medal, an Honorary Award from the Rotary Club 'El Greco', Dean's Internship Award of Imperial College London, the Jannis Tzonker Young Musician Award, and the Citizens of Honour Award for her musical and academical achievements from the Municipality of Hersonissos Crete.

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She was selected as a scholar of the: Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, Greek State Foundation (for 4 consistent years), Leventis Foundation, Bodossakis Foundation, Eleni Schillizi Foundation, Estia Neas Smirnis Foundation, Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust, Minoan Conservatory of Music (8-year full tuition scholarship), GEMMA Classical Music Trust, Athens Megaron Music Friends Society and ‘World in Harmony’ Association conferred by HRH Princess Irene at the Gina Bachauer Awards.

 

In 2021, she made history by becoming the first and only Greek doctor in the world to be included in a Forbes "30 Under 30" list (Europe-Science & Healthcare). In 2022, she was nominated by UCL for two Widening Participation Community of Practice Awards, and was nominated by the British Neuropsychological Society and the Hellenic Neuropsychological Society for the Federation of the European Societies of Neuropsychology Cortex Prize. Recently, she was named runner-up of the Rising Star Award by the Organisation for Psychological Research into Stroke (World Federation for Neurorehabilitation), and was a finalist for the Next Generation Women Leaders Award by McKinsey & Company, the Study UK Alumni Award in Science & Sustainability by the British Council, the "She STEMs" 2024 Award in Life Sciences, the Greek International Women Award (GIWA) in Science & Technology, the UK Women of the Future Award in Science, and the Imperial College London Emerging Alumni Leader Award. In 2024, she was nominated Full Member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society.

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Marianna has performed over 160 concerts to date appearing at major venues such as: Cadogan Hall (London), St John’s Smith Square (London), St George's (Bristol), Albert Long Hall (Istanbul), Hellenic Cultural Centre (London), Stadthalle Graz, Athens Megaron, Cheltenham Town Hall, Sir Edward Elgar Museum, Jacqueline du Pre Music Building (Oxford), Parnassos Hall (Athens), Pittville Pump Room (Cheltenham), Britten Theatre (London), Aegean Arts International Festival, Great Exhibition Road Festival etc. Her live concert recordings are available online, including complete performances of Liszt’s Transcendental Études, Chopin’s Études Op. 25, and Rachmaninoff’s Preludes Op. 23.

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Her concerto appearances include: Grieg's Piano Concerto with Imperial Sinfonietta under William Carslake at the Great Hall in London, Beethoven's Emperor Concerto in Greece under George Petrou and in London, Chopin's Piano Concerto no.1 in Greece, and two performances of Mozart's Piano Concerto K467 with the Piraeus Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with many other orchestras including the Athens Symphony Orchestra, Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra of UK, Athens Youth Orchestra, Imperial College School of Medicine Orchestra, Heraklion Music School Orchestra, Pancretan Youth Symphony Orchestra, Imperial College Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra I. Syggelaki under prominent conductors including Konstantinos Diminakis, Oliver Gooch and James Blair. 

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She enjoys regular invitations from radio and television where the 3 CD recordings with her twin sister are played and has been featured in international media outlets including BBC News, The Guardian, and Classic FM.

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Marianna has taught as Guest Lecturer at UCL, is a Teaching Staff Member at the Medical School of the University of Crete, and Collaborative Academic Staff Member at the Hellenic Open University. She has mentored/supervised over 80 students at Imperial College London, UCL, Royal College of Music (London), and several programs including the New York Academy of Sciences program. She has been invited to give over 100 talks/ presentations, including at Harvard University, University of Oxford, Fifteen Seconds Festival (Graz and Istanbul), and TEDx. She has 12 first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals, some of them in journals such as the British Journal of Surgery and World Neurosurgery; the latter selected her publication as "Editor's Choice". She is an Editorial Board Member of Health Science Reports and the Postgraduate Medical Journal (Oxford University Press), Associate Editor of JMIR Neurotechnology, Academic Editor of PLOS One, and has reviewed 267 manuscripts for 55 international scientific journals.

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Dr Stephanie Kapsetaki is a biologist and classical pianist.

 

She began her musical studies at 9 years old and received the Diploma in Theory of Music, Diploma of Piano Performance with highest honours, distinction and 1st prize at the age of 17 with teacher Kallia Anastasaki, and then continued with Dimitris Toufexis. She has studied piano with Yonty Solomon (late), Martino Tirimo, Radoslav Kvapil, Philip Fowke, Bernard Roberts, Eugen Indjic, Peter Donohοe, Vladimir Tropp, Graham Caskie, Joanna MacGregor, Bryce Morrison, Anton Kuerti and since 2013 she has been studying in London with Christopher Elton.

 

Stephanie, both solo and performing with her twin sister has won 1st prizes and multiple awards in a stream of major National and International piano competitions. Her over 160 stage appearances include some of the major halls of England, Germany, Greece and Cyprus and she has presented both solo and duo recitals at: St George's (Bristol), Cheltenham Town Hall, Hellenic Cultural Centre (London), Sir Edward Elgar Museum, the Bristol, Chelmsford and 

Gloucester Cathedrals, Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building (Oxford), Parnassos Hall (Athens), Bellonio Cultural Centre (Santorini), Municipality Theatre of Larnaka, Pittville Pump Room, Concert Hall of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, Basilica of St Mark (Crete), and Aegean Arts International Festival (Crete). She has performed with major ensembles including the Heraklion Music School Orchestra, the Athens City Symphony Orchestra and the Piraeus Symphony Orchestra. Together with her sister she has represented Crete on commemorative occasions and enjoys regular invitations from radio and television.

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Her repertoire ranges from baroque and classical composers of the 18th century to the masters of the 20th on wards for solo, 4 hands, 2 pianos and concertos. She is honored to be the muse for pieces specifically written for and dedicated to her by several distinguished Italian and Greek composers.

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Stephanie holds a BSc Hons (1st) in Biology from the University of Crete, along with a MSc and PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Oxford. She has published articles in prestigious journals, including Nature Communications and Cancer Discovery, and serves as a Review Editor on the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. With over 80 presentations across conferences, invited talks, TV, and radio, she has also been an invited TEDx speaker, an invited speaker at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Arizona National History Museum, Natural History Museum in London, and Museum of Natural History in Oxford. 

 

Her research experience includes being a Postdoctoral Research Fellow focusing on comparative oncology at Arizona State University, and studying bioelectricity and aging at Tufts University in Boston. Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Science Communication at the Hellenic Open University while also serving as a Visiting Lecturer in Biology at the Department of Pharmacology within the School of Health Sciences at Frederick University.

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Awards/Scholarships (selection) 

  • Finalist in the 2020 World Science Summit Breakthroughs of the Year

  • Alexander S. Onassis Foundation

  • Leventis Foundation

  • Eleni Schillizi Foundation

  • Lillian Voudouri Foundation

  • Bodossakis Foundation

  • Greek State Foundation 

  • 1st Prize – National Arts Council of Greece Competition (solo)

  • 1st Prize – Larissa Conservatory National Piano Competition (solo

  • 3rd Prize and Honorary Diploma – eMuse International Music Competition (solo)

  • 3rd Prize – 7th International Konzerteum Piano Competition (4-hands)

  • 5th Prize – 10th International Konzerteum Piano Competition (4-hands)

  • The New College Oxford Cultural Award, University of Oxford (8 times)

  • The 'Citizens of Honour' Award from the Municipality of Hersonissos

  • The New College Student Support Award

  • The 'Young Greek Soloists 2011' Award

Stephanie and Marianna Kapsetaki were born to British/Greek parents in Crete.

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Marianna obtained a Medical Degree (1st Hons), a MSc (Distinction) in Performing Arts Medicine from University College London, a PhD in Neuroscience from Imperial College London, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at University College London, and is currently undertaking specialty training in Neurosurgery and a MSc in Clinical and Experimental Neurosurgery at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Stephanie has a BSc Hons (1st) in Biology, a MSc and PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Oxford. She was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Arizona State University and Tufts University (Boston), and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Science Communication at the Hellenic Open University while also serving as a Visiting Lecturer at Frederick University.

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In parallel with their studies in science, Marianna and Stephanie have distinguished themselves internationally as classical pianists. They started piano lessons at 9 years old and within only one year they won 3rd prize in the 7th International Piano Competition Konzerteum and full scholarships to study at the Minoan Conservatory of Music where they obtained their Piano Soloist Diploma (First Class Hons, Distinction and 1st prize) at 17 years old being taught by Kallia Anastasaki. They enriched their musical knowledge with lessons with Dimitris Toufexis in Athens and from 2013 with Christopher Elton (Professor Emeritus of the Royal Academy of Music in London).

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They have won 1st prize in 12 international and national competitions (for solo piano or concerto) and 2nd or 3rd prize in the international piano competitions: Gloria Artis (Vienna), Quebec, Odin, Konzerteum, ProPiano, eMuse and Alkan- Zimmerman. They have also been presented with many honorary awards and scholarships including: the New College Oxford Cultural Award, the Parisianou S.A. Award, the Hilda Martindale UK Award, the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine Award, the Music Bursary Award of Imperial College London, the UNESCO Medal, an Honorary Awards from the Rotary Club 'El Greco', the Jannis Tzonker Young Musician Award, Best Poster Awards in international conferences, and the Citizens of Honour Awards for their musical and academical achievements from the Municipality of Hersonissos Crete. Recently, Marianna was included in the Forbes '30 Under 30' Europe list (Science & Healthcare). In 2020/2021 they were finalists for the: Greek International Women Award in Science & Technology, Rising Star Award by the Organisation for Psychological Research into Stroke (World Federation for Neurorehabilitation), Next Generation Women Leaders Award by McKinsey, Knowledge Mobilization Award of the Arizona State University, and “The Science Breakthrough of the Year” in the World Science Summit of Berlin. They were selected as scholars of the: Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, Greek State Foundation, Leventis Foundation, Bodossakis Foundation, Lillian Voudouri Foundation, Eleni Schillizi Foundation, Estia Neas Smirnis Foundation, Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust, GEMMA Classical Music Trust, Athens Megaron Music Friends Society and ‘World in Harmony’ Association conferred by HRH Princess Irene at the Gina Bachauer Awards.

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They have performed over 160 concerts to date appearing at major venues such as: Cadogan Hall (London), St George's (Bristol), Cheltenham Town Hall, St John’s Smith Square (London), Hellenic Cultural Centre (London), Athens Megaron, Sir Edward Elgar Museum, Benjamin Britten Theatre (London), Jacqueline du Pre Music Building (Oxford), etc. They have participated in many international festivals including the Cheltenham Festival, Great Exhibition Road Festival, Imperial Festival and Aegean Arts International Festival. They have performed with major orchestras including the Athens Symphony Orchestra, Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra of UK, Athens Youth Orchestra, Piraeus Symphony Orchestra, Imperial Sinfonietta etc. under prominent conductors such as Oliver Gooch, Konstantinos Diminakis, George Galanis, William Carslake, James Blair and George Petrou. The twins enjoy regular invitations from radio and television where their 3 CD recordings are played.

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