Spyros Halaris
Paris
Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, kanun and lutes player, Spyros Halaris began his apprenticeship in Byzantine chant with Nikos Konstantinopoulos, and continued his studies with Spyros Pavlakis at the National Conservatory of Athens. At the same time he also studied the kanun with Panos Dimitrakopoulos and taught himself the oud and the lute of Constantinople (lavta).
It was alongside his father, the composer and musicologist Christodoulos Halaris, that he deepened his research into ancient Greek and Byzantine music, participating in several concerts and recordings with the “Orchestra of Fine Instruments of Ancient and Byzantine Repertory”, and European research programs within the cultural association Elliniki Mousourgia.
In France, he pursued studies in ethnomusicology at the University of Paris VIII, lyrical singing with Hubert Weller, and deepened his knowledge of Ottoman music alongside Adrien Espinouze with the Ensemble Sultan Veled. He also attended masterclasses with Efren Lopez, Eugenios Voulgaris and Halil Karaduman.
Beyond Byzantine and Ottoman music, his knowledge of multiple traditions featuring the kanun, plus his playing of several lutes, make Spyros Halaris a sought-after musician for many projects. He collaborates with Kudsi Erguner, Nassima, the Chamber Orchestra of the Armenian Diaspora, Christos Leontis & the Orchestra of Contemporary Music of Hellenic Radio-Television, the jazzman David el Malek & the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra.
He also works with medieval music ensembles such as La Camera delle Lacrime, Les Jardins de Courtoisie, Amadis, Tormis, and baroque ensembles as Canticum Novum, Il Ballo, Le Baroque Nomade.
In 2012 he co-founded the Phemios Ensemble with Sébastien Benoit and Christophe Tellart, which was expanded to include Doc Rossi, and collaborates with the Corsican singer Mighela Cesari.
He has conducted several courses on Greek music (“Modality and Byzantine Orchestration” at Kreiz Breizh Akademi, directed by Erik Marchand in 2008, and “Byzantine Modes” at the National Conservatory of Venice “Benedetto Marcello” in 2011) and has given kanun lessons since 2009.
Spyros Halaris’s tracks
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