Alternative Stage Founding Donor
Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera
The Byzantine Music Days festival, titled Genres and generations of contemporary psaltic art and curated by performer and theologian Zaharias Karounis, offers a four-day musical and cultural pilgrimage through the world of Byzantine music, highlighting the vibrant continuity of psaltic art and the many manifestations of a tradition that remains creatively alive to date.
The Festival's central axis is the concept of genre, as expressed through the musical genres of Byzantine theory, the various psaltic schools and traditions that have evolved over the centuries, and modern approaches to psaltic art. Each day of the festival is organized around a major hymnological and theological axis of the Church's worship experience, bringing celebrated chief cantors, historical dances, new voices, and female psaltic ensembles onto the stage, and creating a polyphonic tableau of modern-day psaltic art. The festival aspires to become a new meeting ground for the GNO Alternative Stage and the vibrant Greek musical tradition, and to expand the reach of Byzantine music to a wider contemporary audience.
Hymns of the Divine Liturgy - Hymns from the Paraklesis and Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos (Virgin Mary) | 22 October 2026
Featuring: Women's choral ensemble of the Department of Music Studies, NKUA Ouranisma, supervision-coaching: Grigorios Anastasiou, Associate Professor at the Department of Music Studies, NKUA • Women's Byzantine Choir Psaltries and Girls' Byzantine Choir Nektar of the Panhellenic Byzantine Female Chanters Association, Choirmistress: Nektaria Karantzi • Georgios Dovolos, Archon Maistor (Great Church of Christ). • Byzantine Choir of the Cultural and Artistic Association "Ainountes", Choirmaster: Anastasios Stellas | Opening address by f. Evangelos Papanikolaou, theologian - doctor - missionary at the Holy Church of Cameroon, titled: Introduction to the Divine Liturgy.
The second day will focus on the Divine Liturgy, the heart of Orthodox worship, where the ecclesial body unites in one mouth and one heart, praising the Holy Trinity and participating in the mystery of the Divine Eucharist. A Byzantine choir will perform chants from the Divine Liturgy, highlighting the deep connection among speech, melos, and worship practices. At the same time, women's choirs will chant hymns from the Paraklesis and Salutations services to the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
