I was born in Rhodes to parents who were civil servants, with origins from Asia Minor (mother) and Euboea (father). They were transferred to Athens when I was finishing primary school. Since then, with the exception of a few months I spent in London and two years I lived in Germany, I have been living in Athens. I received my degree from the Faculty of Philosophy (Department of Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies) and went to Munich for postgraduate studies. My son was born there.
I started working in television almost by chance, I liked it and stayed for eight years. Later I moved to radio, which I liked even more. In 1991, when the Megaron — the Athens Concert Hall began its operation, I joined the organisation as Head of the Press Department. In 2006, when Yiorgos Loukos became Artistic Director of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, I left the Megaron’s Press Office and assumed the position of Director of Promotion & Communications at the Hellenic Festival. I retired from there in 2014.
My friendship with Domna began in 1978, when I was working in television. We remained friends until the end of her life and collaborated countless times — mainly on her radio and discographical productions, as well as on her tours abroad and in Greece. My admiration for her personality and work was immense.
Domna founded the Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association in 1981, in order to offer traditional song the aesthetic it deserved and to publish the music she loved without the constraints of record companies. She remained President of the Association until her death.
It was a great honour for me to chair the Association until 2020, when Socrates Sinopoulos —an outstanding musician and long-time close collaborator of Domna— took over.
Source: Yulie Papatheodorou (2023)
