Singer – Composer – Researcher

He was born at Vaghia (Kaznesi), a village near Thebes.
He has studied political sciences at Pantion University, voice and intonation under Popi Petrioli-Photopoulou, Byzantine music under instructor and master cantor of the Athens Cathedral Spyros Peristeris; he has chanted under the direction of the latter from 1983 to 1993 as a regular member of the Athens Cathedral choir. He has been studying Western music on his own.
    Since 1992 he has been working with Markos Dragoumis at the Melpo Merlier Music Folklore Archive of the Centre of Asia-Minor Studies, on subjects related to Greek Demotic and Byzantine music.

    Regordings as a singer: During the years 1984-1989 he worked with Mikis Theodorakis, taking part in concerts in Greece and abroad, as well as in the composer’s recordings: Dionysus (solo album, music and lyrics by Mikis Theodorakis, first production of Sirius by Manos Hadjidakis, Sirius-EMI 1985; re-issued in CD form, Minos-EMI 1995 & 2007); Mikis Theodorakis all time greatest hits –77 songs performed in his world tour 1986-87 (CBS 1986); Faces of the sun (on poetry by Dionyssis Karatzás, Ioulianos-CBS 1987); Memory of stone (lyrics by Michalis Bourboulis, Ioulianos-CBS 1987); 30 Years of Mikis Theodorakis (WEA 1989).
    In 1988 he shared album Lieder (songs by Mikis Theodorakis) with German singer-actress Gisela May (BMG-Ariola; re-issued in CD form and first release in Greece, Protasis 2003).
   In the same year he released his first double album with unpublished Arvanitic songs in cooperation with Demetrios Lekkas (Ioulianos-CBS; re-issued in CD form, FM Records 1995 & 2002).
   In 1996 he released a double CD in which Mr. Moraitis sings 26 Unpublished songs by Dimitris Atraidis, arr.: Yannis Ioannou (LYRA 1996).
  He has participated in Domna Samiou’s double CD titled Easter songs (1998).
    In 1999 he released his second album with unpublished Arvanitic songs from Greece and Southern Italy titled Rose of the rocks in cooperation with Demetrios Lekkas and Nicos Grapsas (MBI-HRONOS;  re-issued, LYRA 2009).
    In 1997 he formed Bukurana, a mixed quintet of classical instruments, in order to present a repertoire of Greek art music works all over Greece. First publication with this ensemble was the CD released in 2001 titled Through branches of the stars, with his interpretations of works by Manos Hadjidakis scored by Demetrios Lekkas (FM Records).
    In 2002 he released the second CD with works and songs by Manos Hadjidakis scored by Demetrios Lekkas with title My age-old moons, my new-flown birds (FM Records).
    He has participated in CD Right in the middle of the sea, singing unpublished transcriptions of traditional material by Nicolaos Phardýs and Markos Dragoumis along with Chronis Aidonides, Domna Samiou, Katerina Papadopoulou (musical coordinator: Socrates Sinópoulos; produced by Greek Record Club, 2002).
    In April 2003 he released the CD Oimi, phos tou kosmou, in which chants Hymns from the Holy Passion with master cantor Spyros Pavlakis and actress Lydia Koniordou (Protasis 2003).

   Compositions: Symphonic works (on poetry by Kostas Karyotakis and Constantine Cavafy), works for choir, orchestral works, a Mass (Missa Graeca), a Requiem, quartets, works for traditional instruments, a concert for guitar, suites and sketches for solo guitar, sketches for solo harp, lullabies, songs et al.

   Publications as a composer: 1) 17 Lullabies (on his own lyrics) for a small instrumental group, interpreted by Nena Venetsanou, Sonia Theodoridou, Maria Dimitriadi and actress Lydia Koniordou, that circulated as a musical album jointly with pieces of literature and pictorial art under the title Lull the blossom of blossoms – Ode to Mother (Indictus, October 2005· re-issued in CD form by the title Lull, my laugh and my light, white jasmine of the world, LYRA 2009).

2) Pictures for the sadness of the blond girls and of Eleni (double CD with 6 works), in cooperation with Megaron Orchestra, Camerata of the Friends of Music (in 2 works) conducted by Alexandros Myrat. Soloists: Sonia Theodoridou, soprano / Dimitris Kotronakis, guitar / Vangelis Christopoulos, oboe / Renato Ripo, violoncello / New Hellenic Quartet / Ourania Lampropoulou, dulcimer / Sophia Lampropoulou, quanun (EMI Classics 2010).

    Publications as a researcher: Anthology of Arvanitic songs from Greece, a CD-accompanied book with 152 traditional songs in score form, complete with musicological, historical, metrical and linguistic notes; theoretical introduction and musicological analysis by Demetrios Lekkas; (Centre of Asia-Minor Studies 2002).