Born in Vagia, a village near Thebes. He studied Political Science at Panteion University, Phonetics and Orthophony, and Byzantine music with Professor and Archcantor of the Metropolis of Athens, Spyros Peristeris. From 1983 to 1993, he chanted under his direction as a member of the choir of the Metropolis of Athens.
From 1984 to 1989, he collaborated with Mikis Theodorakis, taking part in his concerts in Greece and abroad, as well as in his recording projects.
He has released, among others, two albums of Arvanitic songs. In 1992, he began collaborating with Markos Ph. Dragoumis at the Musical Folklore Archives Melpo Merlier, in matters of musicology related to folk and Byzantine music.
In 1997, he formed the small musical ensemble “Boukourana”, with which he has released two albums. He has performed in concerts with various composers and he himself has composed many works.
Thanasis Moraitis wrote the following text in 2012, a few days after the death of Domna Samiou, on March 10, 2012:
Restless, generous, protective, and always available to those she loved.
Dignified — both as an artist and as a human being. Furious and blazing against the cloud of dust stirred up, and still stirred up, by the so-called “artists”–buffoons who, thanks to uneducated, illiterate —almost said “fishwife”— and unmusical journalists and TV presenters, have tried and still try, in vain, to pass themselves off as true artists.
In one of the many “offhand” conversations I had with Grigoris Bithikotsis at his home, as soon as I mentioned Domna’s name, he said to me:
“Do you realize who you’re talking about? You’re talking about the Holy Grail of Greek folk music.”
And he lowered his eyes like a Pietà.
Future generations —musicians and otherwise— will inevitably have to express their gratitude to her, for at every step they will encounter her research, the timbre of her “straight,” yet so fragile, voice, and her unique expression. (Anyone who has heard A Maid Was Singing Longingly or The Sounds of the Chains will understand.)
For all of us whom she herself chose to have near her, we will go on feeling what we always felt: admiration and gratitude — for our mother. How else?
Th. M. (Thanasis Moraitis) gave only a few concerts with her. In one of them, featuring Arvanitic songs from Greece and Southern Italy (Pallas Theatre, 1996), D. S. (Domna Samiou) sang three Arvanitic songs from mainland Greece — even though she herself had neither Arvanitic origins nor knowledge of the language. Being a born student —one of the hallmarks of the truly gifted— she learned them and performed them with the diction of a native Arvanitissa.
The concert was recorded on Th. M.’s CD “Triantafyllo tou Vrachou” (Rose of the Rock) (orchestral supervision and arrangement: Nikos Grapsas and Dimitris Lekkas, LYRA 1998). Th. M. also appears singing one song on D. S.’s CD Easter Songs.
Her voice also makes an important contribution to two CDs released by the Musical Folklore Archives Melpo Merlie (directed by musicologist Markos Ph. Dragoumis): “Songs of Cappadocia” and “Songs of Samothrace” — both under the musical supervision of her beloved collaborator, musician Socrates Sinopoulos.
