The ERT Contemporary Music Orchestra celebrated the 70th anniversary of its founding with a commemorative concert titled 'Traveling Through Time... 1954 - 2024', which took place on July 21, 2024, at the Lycabettus Theater.

It is a retrospective on the seventy-year journey of the historic Orchestra, a tribute to its founders, the great musicians who served it, as well as the composers, arrangers, singers, actors, and soloists who honored it with their collaboration.

The ERT Contemporary Music Orchestra is conducted by Giorgos Aravidis.

Singers: Gerasimos Andreatos, Fotini Darra, Michalis Dimitrakakos, Ioanna Emmanouil, Vasilis Lekkas, Andriana Babali, 12th Pithikos (Akis Tsinidis), Gina Foteinopoulou, Betty Harlafti

Presentation: Olina Xenopoulou

ERT Contemporary Music Orchestra (Orchestra of Varied Music – EIR Light Orchestra)
The Contemporary Music Orchestra was founded in 1954 by the eminent composer and pianist Yannis Konstantinidis or Kostas Giannidis – as he was known to the general public – and the composer Akis Smyrneos (Galinós Kiousoglou).
Known as the 'Light Orchestra of EIR', it was particularly loved for its attractive repertoire: popular songs of the time, light classical works, operetta, and music mainly from Greek cinema. It was a time when the Orchestra's sound was recorded and accompanied many popular Greek films of the '50s and '60s. A highlight was its participation in the first 'Light Song Festivals', where the first hits of Manos Hadjidakis and Mikis Theodorakis were sung.
The revival of the 'Thessaloniki Song Festival' in 2005 marked the return and participation of the Contemporary Music Orchestra in the historic institution.

In 1974, under the guidance of Manos Hadjidakis, the Orchestra was renamed the 'ERT Orchestra of Varied Music' and enriched its format and repertoire. It continued its collaborations with the renowned artists of the time, documenting the musical scene of that period. Artistic directors of the Orchestra of Varied Music included Michalis Rozakis, Kyriakos Sfetsas, and Vasilis Tenidis, while its permanent conductor was Lefteris Chalkiadakis.

During the artistic direction of the ERT Musical Ensembles by Mikis Theodorakis, the Orchestra numerically acquired the profile of a full ensemble comprising 70 musicians and was renamed the 'ERT Contemporary Music Orchestra'.

Since 2020, the musical director of the Orchestra has been Giorgos Aravidis.