Kyriakos Kalaitzidis is considered one of the most important Greek musicians with a bulk of musical activities and performances around the world. He studied Byzantine music with the Former Archon Lampadario of M.CH.E. Eleutherio Georgiadi and he is now a Doctor of the Byzantine Musicology at the University of Athens. He also teaches oud since 1988 in Greece and abroad, having highlighted a large number of students. He has composed and performed instrumental works and music for theater and cinema. He has also written many articles about the evolution of the learned musical tradition and its relationship to contemporary music.
In 1993, he founded, together with other musicians in Thessaloniki, the “En Chordais”, an institute of study, teaching and promotion of musical traditions of the Mediterranean, intervening in the contemporary scene with recording productions, publishing books and organizing concerts. With “En Chordais” or as a soloist he has toured in many countries all over the world and had appeared at major festivals and prominent venues collaborating with exceptional Greek and foreign musicians.
Moreover, he is considered one of the most important researchers in the field of the post-Byzantine secular music. They have been released his personal records Prosmoni, Exile and The tale of music, receiving enthusiastic reviews. In October of 2009, he performed in Hong Kong in first world premiere his work The music journeys of Marco Polo.
As the Artistic Director of “En Chordais” and the MediMuses project, he was the mastermind for the opening in Mediterranean, which also led to the nomination of “En Chordais” for the Prize Sharjah of UNESCO in 2007 and to its awarding with the Prix France Music des Musiques du Monde in 2008.