Hrysoula Stefanaki (Χρυσούλα Στεφανάκη) is a Greek singer and musician, born in

Heraklion, Crete Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...

, Greece, best known for her performances with

David Nachmias David Nachmias (Δαυίδ Ναχμίας) is a Greek musician, notable for his involvement in vintage Greek music. Early life and education David Nachmias was born on 19 March 1966 in Bombay to a Greek family, but grew up in Athens. He atten ...

on Greek retro (interwar era) songs such as "Tango Notturno", "Blue Haven", "

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert a ...

" etc.

Early years

Stefanaki started playing piano very early in her childhood at the age of five. Her parents cultivated her natural musical talent by enrolling her for piano lessons at the age of six, along with guitar, theory and harmony at the "Apollo Conservatory of Music" at Heraklion, Crete. This journey lasted 12 years. Later, she continued her

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

with voice lessons at the "Olympic Athens Conservatory". She started ballet lessons as well at the age of six for five continuous years. The dream to become an actress pushed her to participate in several school plays throughout her school years. She learned traditional Cretan dances in the dance school of Lazarus Hnaris. Her love for

Cretan music The music of Crete ( el, Κρητική μουσική), also called kritika ( el, κρητικά), refers to traditional forms of Greek folk music prevalent on the island of Crete in Greece. Cretan traditional music includes instrumental musi ...

, drove her to follow her father (a Cretan folk dancer), to traditional festivals of Crete, where she refined her dancing competence. While in high school, Stefanaki participated in "Korae" choir as well as in the choir of St. Menas church under the direction of Mrs Xylouris. During a festival at her senior year of high school, where she played guitar and sang, she were offered to sing professionally at a known piano restaurant at Heraklion. This milestone signaled her professional journey as a singer.

Collaborations

In 1996, Manolis Lidakis proposed a collaboration and they worked together during summer concerts. That first summer was followed by several collaborations with Greek singers such as: * 1997, with George Hatzinasios and

Stefanos Korkolis Stefanos Korkolis ( el, Στέφανος Κορκολής; born 12 September 1960) is a Greek composer and pianist. He has performed in theaters and auditoriums all around the world, including the Concertgebouw, the Belém Cultural Center (Port ...

. * 1999 to 2002, with

Vicky Moscholiou Vicky Moscholiou (Greek: Βίκυ Μοσχολιού, ; 23 May 1943 – 16 August 2005), born in Metaxourgeio in Athens, was a Greek singer. On 14 March 2010, Alpha TV ranked her the 13th top-certified female artist in the nation's phonographic er ...

. * 2001, with Yannis Spanos. * 2004, with Mimis Plessas and

Dimitris Mitropanos Dimitris Mitropanos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητροπάνος; 2 April 1948 – 17 April 2012) was a Greek singer. He was renowned for his mastery of Laïkó, a Greek music style. Biography Mitropanos lived in his native city of Trikala in n ...

. * 2005, with Costas Macedonas,

Dimitris Basis Dimitrios Bibasis (''Δημήτριος Μπιμπάσης''), better known by his stage name Dimitris Basis (''Δημήτρης Μπάσης''), is a Greek singer and musician. He is from the village of Cherso, near the city of Kilkis in Central ...

and

Glykeria Glykeria (born Glykeria Kotsoula, el, Γλυκερία; born 16 November 1953 in Agio Pnevma, Serres) is a Greek singer active in Greece and Cyprus, while also gaining fame in Israel, France, Turkey, Spain, and England. Her career has spanned ov ...

. * 2007, with Christos Nikolopoulos. * 2008, with Manolis Mitsias. Stefanaki participated in numerous concerts in Greece and abroad with most of the artists mentioned above. Since 2005, Stefanaki has performed with pianist

on a show entitled ''From Attik to Gounares'', featuring Greek retro/Jazz songs written between 1910 and 1950.

Discography

*1997: Participation in the CD titled ''Damned 70's'' (''Καταραμένο’70'') with remakes of old folk songs produced by Mirror. *2002: Vocalist on the soundtrack entitled ''As long as there is love'' (''Όσο υπάρχει αγάπη'') with music by Marios Strofalis, produced by Heaven. *2010: ''For a woman'' (''Για μια Γυναίκα''), a personal collection of mid-war era Greek songs arranged by

. *2010–2011: Worked with

and

Yannis Kotsiras Yannis Kotsiras ( el, Γιάννης Κότσιρας; 5 October 1969) is a Greek singer and musician. Biography He was born in Athens and started his career in 1990 singing “rebetika” and “laika” at the historical “Perivoli t’ou ...

, in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stefanaki, Hrysoula Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Heraklion Greek jazz musicians 21st-century Greek women singers Greek rhythm and blues singers Greek jazz singers Tango singers 20th-century Greek women singers