the course
important milestones
Petros Gaitanos was born at the Greek village of Kokkinogia in the region of Drama in northern Greece on October 31, 1967.
He is been singing since he was a little kid even though he is singing professionally at 17.
Petros moved to Athens in 1987 and he started collaborating with important artists in the Greek music.
After many years of music studies, he received his diploma magna cum laude in Byzantine and European music, having as teacher and mentor the important chanter Emanouel Chatzimarkos.
>Ο Πέτρος Γαϊτάνος γεννήθηκε 31 Οκτωβρίου του 1967 στο χωριό Κοκκινόγεια που βρίσκεται στο νομό της Δράμας.
" “The artist singer,
the singer who knows well
our folk music,
the singer with the warm
and expressive voice,
the singer with the incomparable
expression and ethos,
the singer who is expressing
with sounds the expressionless
The singer of Greece
who with his engagement
to Byzantine music opens
new paths for the present
and the future of our
national music.”
Emanuel Chatzimarkos
Chanter †2013
An Ambassador of Greek Music
Petros Gaitanos has performed concerts in many different parts or the world addressing them to international audience, even though his albums and his video projections on the internet have a great impact on different cultures throughout the globe.
Very typical are the concerts he performed around the globe like the work on the “Ode ston Mega Alexandro” at the Great Pyramids of Egypt in collaboration with the Symphonic Orchestra & Choir of Cairo, under the auspices of the Greek and Egyptian governments.
It was the first time in history that the location of the Pyramids was used as a concert venue, globally!
Amazing reports were broadcasted throughout the globe with special reports on CNN.
Travels to international festivals representing Greece.
In 1996 representing Greece he sings at a Mediterranean festival for the national tv in Malta along with fifty others participants from different countries.
The summer of 2005 the country of Greece is sending Petros Gaitanos as a representative of the Greek music to the International Music festival at Ephesus while presenting at the packed ancient theatre the Greek music from Byzantium to the contemporary Greek composers, at the mid time stirring up the audience while he is singing Turkish songs.
In 2018 Petros is recording his first international album that’s been released outside of Greece titled “Journey to Ithaka”. A unique Greek journey of music and speech from the ancient times up to the present. The artist interprets in nine different Greek dialects and five different languages.
March 1998
In addition to all these years the artist interprets live in different parts of the world, symphonic pieces written exclusively for his voice with material referred to important aspects and expressions of the Genus and Orthodoxy. He collaborates with large symphonic orchestras around the world by interpreting not only new work but old as well.
Characteristic concerts are: “Ode ston Agio Kassiano” a work about Cyprus composed by the Cypriot composer Marios Meletiou and poetry by the Cypriot poet Akis Fantis in collaboration with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cyprus directed by Rafael Pylarinos under the auspices of the President of the Cypriot Democracy.
He interprets the first universal execution at the Athens Concert Hall of the new work on “Ode ston Mega Alexandro”, composed by Giorgos Chatzinasios and poetry by Giorgos Papakostas with symphonic orchestra and choir, even though the same work will be presented in the summer of 2005 at the Herodes Atticus Theatre, getting amazing reviews and of course in the spring of 2006 is been presented at the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
He collaborates with film directors and plays a leading part in theatrical plays like in “Ealo e Polis” in collaboration with the theatrical group of Volos, Greece in a show about the Fall of Polis.
He collaborates also with the theatrical group of Stavroupolis, in Thessaloniki for the show “From the Theogony to the Fall of Trebizond” singing and lightly acting as well.
It is worth mentioning that the important axis in his interpreting development is the successful – as proven – creative engagement with Byzantine music.
He is been included in the very few Greek interpreters who are passing the memories of the traditions to the youngest generations.
At the same time he has his glance focused in the contemporary sound, in the contemporary song, which he interprets with interest and passion, leaving his imprints in this as well by offering favorite hits.
With Constantinople as a starting point and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to characterise him as the head of his art in our country and a perfect example to our youth, he started a unique tour at our churches where the audience are listening to him with a deep emotion while interpreting the hymns which have been saved throughout the centuries in his very own way. Petros Gaitanos is a multi talented artist with multiple qualities. Exceptional points in his career are his collaborations with actors whom he invites as narrators in some of his albums where he does the sound directing by integrating it in a new creative recording of the art about the text of the Scriptures. He has collaborated with: Nikitas Tsakiriglou, Yiannis Fertis, Grigoris Valtinos, Filareti Komninou, Yiannis Voglis, Katia Dandoulaki, Aggelos Antonopoulos, Emilios Chilakis, Koralia Karanti and others.
As important is also his engagement with the art of photography that embraces his latest albums and his creative projects as well. His photo archive contains more than a million photos.
Meanwhile he performs concerts around the world as an ambassador of the Greek music to different cultures where people are listening and are discovering the high quality and expression of the Greek heritage.
Worth noticing, is the engagement of Petros Gaitanos with his art as having an epicentre the interaction with God and the human, through many different kinds of music, by aiming the true and substantive spiritual benefit.
His professional career has been characterised from the recording and presentation at the live concerts through three major kinds of music, the contemporary music, the traditional/folk music and the Byzantine/Ecclesiastical music something that defines only him in an international scale for the coexistence of the three different types of music in his career very thoroughly in his albums and his live concerts as well and finally including all the Greek music in his work as an artist!
He travels and performs his many-sided artistic personality throughout the planet, while the people are defying him and are engraving him indelibly for his love in the course and his personality with amazing events, from the Ancient Agora of Amathountas in Limassol, Cyprus where the national highway was blocked for a long period of time due to a crowded audience presence and his poetic interpretations at the archeological site of Delphi under the direction of Yiannis Markopoulos to the frozen streets of Canada and the impressive big audience presence in the concerts of the artist from the icy streets to the emotional attendance and the extravaganza in front of the Great Pyramids in Egypt at which for the very first time in history they were conceded for an artistic performance, to the many thousands of people inside and outside the historic church of The God’s Sofia in Thessaloniki where people were seating on the fences and the nearby streets had the traffic stopped on and off, the impressive sounds of the people’s whistling in the heart of Albania to the artist’s kneeling in front of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople and the silent emotion of the expatriates holding the few precious things from their roots and joined them in the Greek expression of Petros.
His impressive connections with the audience at the bleachers of the large venues throughout Greece and the thousands applauds and strong energy, to his humble presence in the roots of Meteora, been invited by the entire brotherhood of monks of this holy state of the rocks of Orthodoxy.
To be coordinated with the non drying tear of the holy hard work of the Greek immigrants at a factory in Stuttgart, Germany to stand proud under the rock of Acropolis at the Ancient Theatre of Herodes the Atticus performing the country Greece, to sing loud at the soccer fields under the direction of the wide hands of Mikis Theodorakis and to count the last breaths of the Metropolitan of Sacramento in the Pacific Ocean next to his hospital bed who said in his last words “ …..my boy Petros please sing me that song of the mother you sing, because a short while ago I lost my mother and my heart is tearing apart…..” while Petros was singing with the strength he had impressed the Metropolitan who was whispering his last words “ my good boy…..you should go in all places around the world to carry your art and your faith for our Greece and our Orthodoxy…..” and the memories to broaden and land someplace in the Atlantic Ocean, in a church next to the Blessed Archbishop Iakovos of America and to describe it with a loud voice and tears in the eyes “…..my dear patriots what our dear Petros chanted today in the English language it was a balsam to our souls, for us who love our Greece and our God, you my child you should go all over the world to carry your message, may God bless you with our blessings…..”.
Times with holding back tears while trying to tolerate the Holy news and other times to prevent his blessed trying from different sectors and artists of his field in the temple of material and vanity, something that’s not about the pure and multi talented course of Petros as a person – a performer – an artist.
His course stands in three decades in the gifts he received from God and the love of the people, rare data in the field that is not respecting the values and swallows what blooms worthily by itself.
Petros Gaitanos does the artistic direction and the artistic revision in the most of his albums that have been released he has also written the lyrics and music in some of the songs that have been recorded in his albums and sometimes he remixes the material he performs and its research also and of course the artistic direction as well, last but not least the photographs on the cd jackets and cd booklets are taking by him.
Worth noting that the important axis in his performing development is the successful – as it’s been proved – his created involvement with the Byzantine music. He is included in between the very few Greek performers that are carrying the recollections of the traditions to the younger generations.
Meanwhile he has his glance focused in the contemporary sound, the contemporary songs, which he performs with interest and passion, leaving his fingerprints in this too, by offering favorite successes.
Petros Gaitanos is a multitalented artist with many talents and abilities, individual position in his career are having his collaborations with actors/actresses, whom he invites on his albums as narrators and he does the sound directing, integrating them in a new creative recording of the art that is about the texts of the Scriptures. He has collaborated with: Nikitas Tsakiroglou, Yiannis Fertis, Grigoris Valtinos, Yiannis Voglis, Filareti Komninou, Katia Dandoulaki, Aggelos Antonopoulos, Noni Ioannidou, Constantinos Constantopoulos, Emilios Chilakis, Koralia Karanti and others.
Petros Gaitanos according to his work and his actions has achieved not only nationwide uniquenesses but worldwide as well and some of them are:
• He is the only performer worldwide who performed at the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
• He is the only well know performer in Greece who gives concerts inside of churches.
• He has the most recording – titles in the Greek discography, among very few other artists.
• He has recorded the most important work that was ever done in Greek discography by the title “Holy Scriptures – The New Testament” an album containing 21 CD and 24 hours of listening with the participation of 18 narrators and 50 artists in total.
• He is the only artist in Greece who has created and recorded in albums a new kind of audio directed recordings on spiritual texts.
• He has recorded the most albums and sold the highest number of them of his generation.
• He is an artist – Performer who emerged and institutionalised artistically the Orthodox Byzantine Music in Greece in a wide and powerful range.
• He is the only Greek performer who gave a concert inside a church with more than ten thousands people in the audience.
• He is the only performer internationally who performed hymns at the top eternal pilgrimages of Christianity, The Holy Land in Jerusalem.
• He is the first and only hymns performer of the Christian Orthodoxy who performed concerts of Byzantine hymns with the interpretation of the Sign language
Spring 2000
Discography
personal albums
1990 – THE DILEMMA
1992 – GLASS RUNNER
1993 – IN FIRST PERSON
1995 – NINTH HOUR
1996 – STATE D’
1997 – PASSION WEEK
1997 – FREE SEAS
1998 – WIND, LOVE AND SALTINESS
1998 – LIGHT FROM LIGHT
1999 – I WILL CHANT HYMNS TO MY GOD AS LONG AS I EXIST
2000 – LIKE FRESH COOL WATER
2000 – THE SOURCE OF LIFE
2001 – SECRET PAGE
2003 – PENTECOSTARION
2006 – IT BLOSSOMS AND BARES MORE
2006 – BLOOD & WATER – Course towards the Passion
2006 – THE HEAVENS NARRATE… – Collection of 4 CD
2006 – ANTHOLOG – Collection of 2 CD
2008 – ARCHANGELS’ ODES – Collection of best hymns 2 CD + 1 DVD
2009 – FOLLOWING IN THE TRACK OF A VOICE – Collection of 3 CD + 1 DVD
2010 – THE HOLY GOSPELS AND HYMNS OF ORTHODOXY, 10 CD album
2012 – THE HOLY SCRIPTURES – From the texts of New Testamen, 21 CD album
2015 – SAINT PAISIOS FROM THE HOLY MOUNT ATHOS – Τalking with the Elder – Listening to the Saint, 6 CD album
2016 – THE HAIL MARY PRAYER, 2 CD
2016 – THE AKATHIST HYMN, 2 CD
2016 – THE SUPPLICATORY CANON TO VIRGIN MARY, 2 CD
2017 – TEACHINGS & HYMNS OF ORTHODOXY, 2 CD
2018 – THREE DAYS – The Mundane Death – Christ’s Descent into Hades – The Resurrection, 2 CD
2020 – JOURNEY TO ITHAKA – A Hellenic Musical Journey from Ancient to Modern Times, 2 CD
participations
1991 – CINEMA OUR PARADISE
1992 – THE SONG BARE
1994 – GIANNIS SPANOS – GREAT HITS
1995 – VALCANIZATER
1996 – CHARIS ALEXIOU – WITH A KISS OF THE WORLD
1998 – LYTAIA GATE
1999 – THE SONG IN THE SEE
1999 – LOVE BORDERS
2000 – ON THE WIND OF LOVE
2000 – GIANNIS MARKOPOULOS – ΤRIBUTE
2003 – SMYRNA
2008 – EPYLLIA
2008 – THE DISAPPEARANCE
2009 – THE FLOWER SONGS
2009 – ON THE WAYS OF TRADITION
2009 – MAY WE SING?
2011 – LARKOS LARKOU – THIS KINDOM IS BILT FROM GODS
2013 – MY SOUL’S HIDDEN
2013 – HAIL SAINT LAZAROUS
2014 – IN THE ANGLE OF THE KISS
2014 – I SING MY ISLAND