He was born in 1974 in Athens. At the age of 14, he met Ross Daly and began studying the Constantinopolitan lyra and the Constantinopolitan laouto (lute). A year later, he joined the Labyrinth Musical Workshop, with which he participated for six years in numerous concerts and recordings. At the same time, he developed an active artistic presence in ensembles focusing on Greek traditional and Byzantine music, as well as classical Ottoman music, jazz and rebetiko. A virtuoso of the Constantinopolitan lyra and the Constantinopolitan lute, he was nurtured in diverse musical idioms of East and West, shaping a personal and recognizable style.
He studied classical guitar, Byzantine music and traditional singing at the Simon Karas School, and in 1997 completed his musicology studies at the University of Athens. He has taken part in many concerts and recordings in Greece and abroad, and has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Chronis Aidonidis, Ara Dinkjian, Loreena McKennitt, Evanthia Reboutsika and Derya Turkan.
His collaboration with Domna Samiou began in 1989, playing politiki lyra on the album Songs About Greeks Far From Home. Since then, he participated in numerous concerts and in almost all productions of the Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association, both as a musician and as musical curator.
In 2000 he was awarded the State Prize for Young Artists “Melina Mercouri” by the Ministry of Culture. He served as Assistant Professor at the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia. Since 2020 he has been serving as President of the Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association.
Source: Socrates Sinopoulos
