Antoniou was born in
Athens,
Greece. He held teaching positions at
Stanford University, the
University of Utah, and the
Philadelphia Musical Academy. He was professor among the composition staff at Boston University, where he served since 1978. He also led and conducted the new music ensemble
Alea III, which holds residence at Boston University. The ensemble performs frequently with new and premiering compositions, has worked with numerous renowned artists, and has toured Europe on numerous occasions. As a conductor, Antoniou worked with orchestras, small and large ensembles, and musical organizations all over the globe. He was engaged by several major orchestras and ensembles, such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players, the Radio Orchestras of Berlin and Paris, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the
Tonhalle Orchestra (Zurich), the
National Opera of Greece, and the Berkshire Music Center Orchestra. In 1974 he was engaged as assistant director of contemporary activities at the
Tanglewood Music Center in
Lenox, Massachusetts, and held that position until the summer of 1985. As an enthusiast and performer of new music, Antoniou founded various contemporary music ensembles, including ALEA II at Stanford University; ALEA III, at Boston University; the Philadelphia New Music Group; and the Hellenic Group of Contemporary Music. He also directed the ALEA III International Composition Competition. Furthermore, he held the position of president of the National Greek Composers' Association and director of the Experimental Stage of National Opera of Greece since 1989. In 1995 he was the Member of International Honorary Committee of the Worldwide Dictionary of Music (Editor: Olympia Tolika) of European Art Center of Greece. On July 11, 1996, his
Kommos B - Morton Gould in Memoriam, had its world premiere when performed at the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. As a composer, Antoniou wrote more than a hundred and fifty compositions for theatre and film music. He has been trained under esteemed composers such as
Günter Bialas and
Yiannis Papaioannou. Antoniou died in Athens on December 26, 2018. ==Major works==