Manolis Androulidakis studied guitar with Notis Mavroudis and Costas Cotsiolis, Musicology and Composition at the Aristotle University, always winning excellence and awards. He taught for 3 years at the Department of Music Studies of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and one year at the Department of Folk and Traditional Music of the Technical University of Epirus. He is a Member of the Union of Greek Composers.
As a composer, guitarist and arranger he has collaborated with composers such as Mikis Theodorakis (among other projects, he conducted his 90th anniversary concert in the presence of the composer with an audience of more than 8.000 people at the Petra Theater in Athens), Leo Brouwer, Nikos Mamangakis, conductors such as Karolos Trikolidis, Odysseas Dimitriadis, Loukas Karytinos, film directors such as Pantelis Voulgaris, and the best Greek lyricists as well as with the symphonic ensembles London Philarmonia, State Orchestra of Thessaloniki, Orchestra of the Hellenic Radio Television (ERT), Sinfonietta Beograd, The City of Athens Symphony Orchestra, The City of Thessaloniki Symphony Orchestra, The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Musical Ensembles, the University of Thessaly Musical Ensembles etc.
Many of his songs have been recorded and performed by the greatest Greek singers such as Maria Dimitriadis, George Dalaras, Vassilis Papakonstantinou, Manolis Mitsias, Yiannis Kotsiras, Eleni Vitali, Vassilis Lekkas, Rita Antonopoulou and others.
In recent years, he has returned more dynamically to classical guitar, introducing innovative techniques and crafting exceptionally skillful arrangements and compositions. This has resulted in the creation of significant musical performances and recordings.
In this context, he had the honor of signing the official album collection of Mikis Theodorakis, “Myrtia”, featuring works by the composer arranged for solo guitar.
He was chosen by FM Records to record a cd for the “Greatest Greek Musicians” series.
His work “Un árbol llamado Lorca” was performed by the Athens Municipal Symphony Orchestra.
He presented his guitar arrangement of “Chariots of Fire” during the ceremony naming Vangelis Papathanassiou an honorary doctorate recipient of the Polytechnic School of the University of Thessaly, in a live connection and listening session with the composer in Paris.
At the Patras International Festival, he premiered his guitar concerto “Five Miniatures for Guitar and Strings”, performed with the string quartet “L’anima” and himself as the soloist. He later recorded the same piece with the National Symphony Orchestra of ERT.
In November 2018, he launched a series of recitals titled “Greek Music on Six Strings”, which he has performed in Greece’s most prestigious theaters. The program includes works from the albums “Myrtia” (2016), “GREEK CINEMA music for classical GUITAR” (2020), and his latest album, “ANTHOLOGY for Guitar” (2021).
Since 2018, he has served as the artistic director of events for the Cultural Association of Greeks in Hungary, hosting notable artists in Budapest such as G. Kotsiras, P. Thalassinos, V. Lekkas, R. Antonopoulou, K. Triantafyllidis, I. Fortis, and others.
In November 2022, he was commissioned by SEGAS (Hellenic Association of Amateur Athletics) to conceptualize the opening ceremony of the 39th Athens Authentic Marathon, themed “Grigoris Lambrakis”, at the Marathon Tomb. For this event, he composed original music, setting ancient Greek texts to music with unique orchestration and the use of ancient Greek instruments, contemporary instruments, and pre-recorded elements.
In December 2023, FM Records released the first single of his collection “Talking to Myself”, consisting of original compositions for two guitars. Released tracks include “Rondo”, “Baby Born”, “Fragment from a Concerto”, and “Slow Waltz”.
In March 2024, the album “Window to Infinity” was released, with his compositions featuring unpublished lyrics by Alkis Alkaios and performed by Yiannis Kotsiras.
As part of the Greek Festival of Sydney, he performed the recital “Greek Music on Six Strings” at the Sydney Conservatorium.
In July 2024, during the Heprapyrgion Festival, he was commissioned by the Cultural Center of Central Macedonia to arrange and orchestrate works by Federico García Lorca for a symphonic ensemble. These were presented with him as the guitar soloist, texts by Anna Mykoniou and directed by Athanasios Kolalas.
In September, as part of the Mikis Theodorakis Festival in Chania, he performed a recital featuring works by Mikis Theodorakis.
He wrote lyrics and composed original music for the children’s theater production “Little Hero” by Stelios Anemodouras, directed by Athanasia Kalogianni.
He is currently overseeing the artistic direction of the 50th-anniversary concert for the Hellenic Cultural Center in New York, scheduled to take place in January 2025 at the Tony Bennett Concert Hall.