Christos Kaliontzidis

Christos Kaliontzidis was born in Veria, Imathia, Greece in 1993 and was raised in Thessaloniki. He comes from a family with a rich musical background. His father, Michalis, who is considered to be one of the most important masters of the Pontic lyre in Greece, immersed him in both the traditional Greek and Pontian music from a very young age. Christos has been playing the Pontic lyra since he was six, and at the age of twelve, he started making his first public appearances. In 2001, he enrolled in the State Conservatory of Northern Greece, where he studied for a number of years, taking theoretical lessons and learning how to play the piano and the classical violin under the instruction of the great soloist Galina Batsika. In 2011, after succeeding in his Panhellenic examinations, he entered the University of Ioannina and studied at the Department of Music Studies. As soon as he graduated, he went on and got his master’s degree in “Modal Traditions of the Mediterranean” from the Department of Music Science at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki. He also holds a degree in Jazz Improvisation from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He specializes in the musical tradition of Pontus and the modality that has been used both technically and stylistically. He plays several musical instruments such as the Pontic lyra, the violin, the lute, the oud, the kemane, the yayli tanbur, and the tulum (Pontic bagpipe). However, he declares himself as a lyra player.

Despite his young age, he has traveled all over Greece giving concerts in historical places such as the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus. He has also performed in many countries in Europe, America, North Africa, and Australia, participating in numerous events. Christos has worked with some of the most important Greek singers and musicians that include Chronis Aidonidis, Petros Gaitanos, Glykeria, Dimitris Basis, Pantelis Thalassinos, George Ntalaras, Areti Ketime, Panagiotis Lalezas, Matthaios & Konstantinos Tsahourides, Mimis Plessas, and Sofia Papazoglou. Moreover, he has had the chance to work with some exceptional musicians and artists from abroad such as Dilek Coç (Turkey), Hussein Zahawy (Iraq), Peter Ralchev, Peyo Peev (Bulgaria), Lamia Ait Amara (Algeria), and the famous ethnic performer Omar Faruk Tekbilek (US), accompanying them with the Pontic lyra and the violin. He has participated in numerous recordings, cooperating with musicians from different music styles and idioms. He has released six albums so far. The last one, titled ‘Maçka Radif,’ was released in March 2023. He has also created his own recording studio called “Argo Records” in order to produce projects and recordings which are based on Pontic and ethnic fusion styles. Since October 2019, he has been a lecturer at the University of Ioannina in the Department of Music Studies. Finally, he has been an active member of “Lyra,” a Pontic lyra music school, conducting both online and live lessons in many Greek cities and abroad.