Vangelis Pytharoulis
Biographical Note
Born and raised in Kentri of Ierapetra, in the Lasithi Prefecture of Crete. He first started chanting at the parish of the village he lived in at the age of nine. Nevertheless, his great love was the traditional Cretan music.
His first contact with music took place in Chania, where he met Vassilis Nirakis. His professional career started in 1979, playing the bouzouki in Ierapetra with some friends and occasionally singing in various events. At the same time, he took Music Theory courses by the director of the Orchestral Band of Heraklion, Minas Tzortzakis, and later by the professor Christos Alexopoulos in Athens.
In 1982 he moved to Athens and joined the band of Antonis Peristeris, at first playing the guitar, and later playing the lute. The following year he began his career as a ‘lyraris’ - the player of the traditional Cretan lyra.
He has collaborated and toured in Greece and abroad with many renowned musicians. In 1996 he moved to Heraklion in Crete, where he lives and works.
He worked with Domna Samiou and participated in her concerts in Greece and abroad between 1983 and 1985.