Panos Panayi – a lifetime of service to music education and The English School

As Music Master at The English School from 1957, Mr Panayi touched the lives of hundreds of students in over four decades of music class and instrumental teaching, choir and orchestral conducting. He was well-known for his innovative methods, exacting standards and inimitable sense of humour, a true legend to all the generations who had the privilege of being taught by him. We strive to follow in his footsteps and honour his legacy by keeping the music department he loved so much at the cultural centre of our community.
The funeral of Mr Panos Panayi will take place on Thursday 26th September, 2024, at 15:00 at the church of St Demetrios, Acropolis Nicosia.

Biography / Obituary – long version
(sent by Alex Panayi)

Born on the 20th September 1926 in Afania, Panos Panayi attended The English School, Nicosia at the age of 11, later transferring to the Pancyprian Gymnasium from which he subsequently graduated. He studied at the teacher’s training college in Morphou and worked for five years at the Strovolos Primary School. Concurrently, he played the violin in the Mozart Music Society, founded by Solon Michaelides.

He received a scholarship to study in London, focusing on music education and symphonic conducting, where he learned to play all instruments of the symphony orchestra. During his final exams, he met his wife, Clairie, whom he had chosen to accompany him on the piano. They married in 1957 and moved to Cyprus the same year, where he was immediately appointed as the music master at The English School, Nicosia.

Initially, he established a high-level choir and, with many sacrifices and hard work, created the renowned music scholarship programme at The English School, teaching talented children the instruments of the symphony orchestra, which were, at the time, borrowed from the then British administration of Cyprus. On the  24th of June 1970, his efforts bore fruit as he conducted the first concert of Cyprus's first complete symphony orchestra, always under the auspices of The English School, Nicosia.

His students include many of today’s musicians, but above all, Panos Panayi cultivated a culture of classical music lovers. After his retirement in 1987, he fervently practised the double bass with the aim of becoming a founding member of the Cyprus State Orchestra, the precursor to today’s Cyprus Symphony Orchestra foundation.

Most of his students were also founding members of the first Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra, founded in the 1980s. His passion for music never waned; hence, he continued to teach through private lessons and played double bass for the Nicosia Symphony Orchestra until the ripe age of 94.
Characterised by his permanent smile and sense of humour, it comes as no surprise that all three of his children—Nicholas, Victoria, and Alex all inherited his love for music, the arts, and education.

As a community, we hope to prove worthy of the great musical legacy he has left us. May the soil that covers him be light!

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