Athanasia Tzanou was born in 1971. She studied piano and composition at the Athens Conservatory, graduating in 1993, and went on to study at the Berost Music Academy (1995-1998) with Franco Donatoni, graduating with a Master's degree. She also attended several master-classes and workshops, allowing her further study with Brian Ferneyhough, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Boguslaw Schäffer. In 1999-2000, she participated in Cursus (IRCAM's composition and computer music course). Her works have been performed in Athens, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Alicante, Salzburg, Schwaz, Bologna, Florence, New York, Chicago, Maryland, and Bucarest, by soloists such as Harry Sparnaay, Luca Paolini, and Franc Staadler, and ensembles including the Bruno Maderna Ensemble, Archaeus Ensemble, Het Trio, Kontrapunkte, Octandre, and the Athens Contemporary Music Group.