(1928–2023) | He was born in Karoti, Evros, and died in Athens. While still a student, he studied Byzantine music — first with his father and later with the protopsaltis (lead cantor) Michalis Kefalokoptis. In 1950, he moved with his parents to Athens, where he completed his studies in Byzantine music at the Hellenic Conservatory. At the same time, he worked as an accountant at Sismanogleio Hospital until his retirement in 1988.
In 1953, he met the folklorist Polydoros Papachristodoulou at Sismanogleio, who invited him to participate in his radio program “Thrakikoi Antilaloi” (Θρακικοί Αντίλαλοι) on the national radio (EIR), in order to present to the public the then-unknown repertoire of Thrace. From then on, he took part in the broadcasts, soon performing as a soloist in the choir of Pantelis Kavvakopoulos. Later, he also participated in the choir of Simon Karas, and in 1957 he took over a regular weekly program on the radio.
His extensive discography —comprising approximately 450 Thracian songs— included mainly traditional songs as well as a significant number of Byzantine hymns. He performed in hundreds of concerts in Greece and abroad and collaborated with many acclaimed artists. In 2004, he sang at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens.
In 2004, he began teaching at the traditional music workshop of the Municipality of Alexandroupolis, which he also directed. He also served as artistic director of the Center for the Study of Musical Tradition of Thrace, Asia Minor, and the Black Sea, was honorary president of the association “Archive of the Musicological Tradition of Chronis Aidonidis”, and founding member of the “Archive of Greek Music”, the “Association of Greek Singers”, and the “Collective Rights Organization Erato”.
For his contribution to Greek culture, he was honored by numerous institutions, municipalities, and cultural associations in Greece and abroad. In 2009, the Prefecture of Evros declared the year as “Year of Chronis Aidonidis” and organized a commemorative conference and concerts in his honor.
