Kostas Kantzilieris–Performer and researcher of folk songs

Kostas Kantzilieris is a folk song performer and researcher who has collaborated with musician and clarinettist Alexandros Arkadopoulos for several years. He was born in Tsernitsa (Artemisia) Messenia, in 1945. He grew up in Kalamata, where he had his first systematic musical experiences, participating in the "Orfeas" choir. In the summers, he used to follow his father (who set up an open-air shop at the festivals held on Mount Taygetos and the outskirts of Kalamata), where, as a child, he would listen to various musicians perform live.

In 1963, Kostas Kantzilieris moved to Athens. For five years, he attended Byzantine music and folk song classes at Simon Karas' "Association for the Promotion of National Music" (KEPEM) and was a member of his choir. He continues to collaborate with him to this day, as well as with organisations and associations in Petroupoli, to highlight the Greek musical tradition.

Kostas Kantzilieris is considered one of the greatest voices in Greek folk music and one of the greatest voices in Greece. His voice stands out for the metal and the long range of its voice, as well as for its nasal Byzantine debt. At the same time, all these years, he has been engaged in the research, recording and interpretation of the folk songs of Moria, while he has released two digital discs: "I Had a Garden" (with the Greek High School of Kalamata) and "T'aidoni t'aidonaki" (with the Mirror). He has collaborated with State Radio and participated in state and private television broadcasts. Finally, he has participated in many concerts and events throughout Greece, such as at the Small Theatre of Epidaurus, the Athens Music Megaron, the Petra Theatre, the Municipal Theatre of Patras, etc.