Casa dei Mezzo Music Festival, Makrigialos, Crete

Vagelis Vardakis

Vagelis Vardakis

Born in Ierapetra Crete, Vagelis started violin and lira lessons at the age of 10 with the famous traditional violin teachers Panteli Baritantonaki and Kosta Papadaki.

He won first prize in a lira competition when he was 16 and then continued his studies in Thessaloniki, where he performed for the municipal orchestra as well as reading mechanical engineering.

From 1995 to 2002 Vagelis taught violin and lira at music schools in Ierapetra and Sitia.

Vagelis has been involved in the research, preservation and recording of traditional tunes and dances of Eastern Crete since 1985. Through his work Vagelis is now recognised as the leading violin expert for the varied local traditional musical motifs of this area. He has also recorded six CDs of Cretan music and he has written numerous articles for local newspapers and magazines.

Currently, Vagelis is writing a book on the traditional dances of Crete and this is scheduled to be published in 2011.

Nikos Mastorakis

Nikos Mastorakis

Nikos was born in Ierapetra in 1971 and started music and guitar very early. By the age of 15 he was studying guitar under Dimitri Polena, renowned as a master of traditional Asia Minor and rebetiko music.

He then continued his studies while he was in university in Zagreb, Croatia, until 1995.

Nikos started composing his own music in 1999. He has written themes for numerous plays performed in Crete and in 2006 he released a recording of his music.

For the last six years Nikos has performed with Vageli Vardakis in conserts of traditional Cretan music in different venues in Creece.

Socrates Arvanitakis

Socrates Arvanitakis

Born in Peloponissos, Greece, Socrates studied music in Athens and in England where he graduated with a BSc in Performance Arts. He then studied for his Masters at London University in Ethnomusicology and Composition.

From 1975 to 1988 Socrates taught classical guitar privately in London. While living in London during the 1980's and 1990's he was involved in different ensembles, performing and researching Renaissance, Baroque, theatre, traditional Greek and Byzantine church music.

Socrates returned to Greece in 2004 to teach string instruments in Athens. For the last two years he has taught the same instruments in Makry Gialos as well as with Vageli Vardaki performing traditional Greek and Asia Minor music on the bouzouki.

George Lambrakis

George Lambrakis

Born in Malles, Crete, George started learning the lira and laouto as a child. He continued with the local violin expert Panteli Baritantonaki and then started playing professionally at the age of 17.

George is now considered a laouto expert of traditional Cretan music and teaches in the Ierapatra school of music.

For the last few years George has been working with Vagelis Vardakis to record the local folkloric music of East Crete.