Byzantine Music Days

Alternative Stage Founding Donor

Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

The Byzantine Music Days festival, titled “Genres and generations of contemporary psaltic art” and curated by performer and theologian Zaharias Karounis, offers a four-day musical and cultural pilgrimage through the world of Byzantine music, highlighting the vibrant continuity of psaltic art and the many manifestations of a tradition that remains creatively alive to date.

The Festival’s central axis is the concept of “genre,” as expressed through the musical genres of Byzantine theory, the various psaltic schools and traditions that have evolved over the centuries, and modern approaches to psaltic art. Each day of the festival is organized around a major hymnological and theological axis of the Church’s worship experience, bringing celebrated chief cantors, historical dances, new voices, and female psaltic ensembles onto the stage, and creating a polyphonic tableau of modern-day psaltic art. The festival aspires to become a new meeting ground for the GNO Alternative Stage and the vibrant Greek musical tradition, and to expand the reach of Byzantine music to a wider contemporary audience.

♦ Christmas Hymns | 21 October 2026

Featuring: “Kleida" Chanters' Choir, Choirmaster: Dimitrios Galanis, Chief Cantor (Protopsaltis) at the Holy Church of Santa Barbara, Patra  • Grigorios Zarkos, Chief Cantor (Protopsaltis) at the Holy Church of Piraeus, Holy Church of the Holy Trinity  • “The masters of psaltic art,” Choirmaster: Achilleas Chaldaeakes, Chief Cantor (Protopsaltis) at the Holy Church of Saint Spyridon, patron saint of Piraeus | Opening address by Achilleas Chaldaeakes, Professor of Byzantine Musicology and Chanting Art, NTUA, former Dean of the School of Philosophy, titled: “Genres and generations of psaltic art” 

The first day of the festival is dedicated to Christmas, the “metropolis of all holy days,” as described by Saint John Chrysostom. Through the hymns of the Great Hours, Vesper, and Orthros, ecclesiastical hymnography contemplates the mystery of the Divine Incarnation. The chanters' choirs perform works by prominent hymnodists and composers of the Byzantine tradition, highlighting the celebration's poetic and musical richness.

 ♦ Hymns of the Divine Liturgy – Hymns from the Paraklesis and Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos (Virgin Mary) | 22 October 2026

Featuring: Women's choral ensemble of the Department of Music Studies, NKUA “Ouranisma,” supervision-coaching: Grigorios Anastasiou, Associate Professor at the Department of Music Studies, NKUA • Women's Byzantine Choir “Psaltries” and Girls’ Byzantine Choir “Nektar”  of the Panhellenic Byzantine Female Chanters Association, Choirmistress: Nektaria Karantzi • Georgios Dovolos, Archon Maistor (Great Church of Christ). • Byzantine Choir of the Cultural and Artistic Association "Ainountes", Choirmaster: Anastasios Stellas | Opening address by f. Evangelos Papanikolaou, theologian – doctor – missionary at the Holy Church of Cameroon, titled: “Introduction to the Divine Liturgy.”

The second day will focus on the Divine Liturgy, the heart of Orthodox worship, where the ecclesial body unites “in one mouth and one heart,” praising the Holy Trinity and participating in the mystery of the Divine Eucharist. A Byzantine choir will perform chants from the Divine Liturgy, highlighting the deep connection among speech, melos, and worship practices. At the same time, women’s choirs will chant hymns from the Paraklesis and Salutations services to the Most Holy Virgin Mary.

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♦ Hymns of Holy Week and the Resurrection | 23 October 2026

Featuring: “En Psaltirio” Choir, Choirmaster: Konstantinos Fotopoulos, Chief Cantor (Protopsaltis) at the Holy Church of Saint Kosmas the Aetolian, Marousi • Choir of the Association of Constantinopolitan Friends of Music in Athens, choirmaster: Kallistratos Kofopoulos, Chief Cantor (Protopsaltis) Holy Church of Saint Eleftherios, Piraeus • Athenian Byzantine Choir, Choirmaster: Georgios Hatzichronoglou, Archon Hymnodist at The Great Church of Christ (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople), Chief Cantor (Protopsaltis) at the Holy Church of Faneromeni, Cholargos | Opening address by Zaharias Karounis, performer - theologian, titled: “The Troparion of Kassiani – A Theological And Hymnological Approach.”

The third day will illuminate the most reverent and radiant period of the Orthodox Church’s liturgical cycle: Holy Week and Christ’s Resurrection. Through the tropária of these days, ecclesiastical hymnography traces the path to Christ’s “willful Passion,” the Crucifixion, and ultimately to the Light of the Resurrection. The choirs and solo chanters will perform hymns from the services of the Bridegroom, the Holy Passion, the Epitaphios Lament, and the Resurrection, highlighting the theological, poetic, and musical richness of the Byzantine psaltic tradition.

♦ Hymns of the All-Night Vigil | 24 October 2026

Featuring: Fotios Ketsetzis, Archon Protopsaltis at the Holy Archdiocese of America• Greek Byzantine Choir “Lykourgos Angelopoulos” – Research Center, Choirmaster: Georgios Konstantinou • Solo chanters: Archimandrite Cherubim Tsinoglou, Vassilios Prassas | Opening address by f. Chrysovalantis Theodorou, PhD in Liturgical Theology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, vicar at the Holy Church of Theotokos’ Dormition, St. Stefanos, Attica, titled: “All-night Vigil. A Conceptual Approach.”

The Festival will conclude with an evening dedicated to the ritual and atmosphere of the Mount Athos all-night vigil, in which psaltic art is inextricably linked to nighttime prayer, silence, and the mystical experience of worship. Through the hymns of the all-night vigil and the distinctive Mount Athos psaltic style, a deeply experiential tradition shaped over the centuries within the monasteries of Mount Athos will emerge. The choral melismatic developments, combined with the melodious performances of the solo chanters and the constant flow of psalmody, will transport the audience to the spiritual atmosphere of Mount Athos all-night vigils, where music serves as both prayer and an experience of collective reverence.