Christodoulos Halaris

Sometimes billed as "Chris Hallaris," Greek composer and scholar Christodoulos Halaris is a leading expert on the study and reconstruction of ancient Greek and Byzantine music. He turned to musicology and composing after studying mathematics in Paris. Taking his cues from religious iconography and traditional popular Greek music, Halaris began reconstructing fragmentary (and sometimes nonexistent) old Greek music documents. His re-imagining of secular Byzantine music, with what Halaris identifies as roots in Hellenic song, has met with skepticism from some scholars, but it is based on a serious study of a number of sources and centuries of related developments in Greek music. He has published more than 50 compact discs of this music, and helped create the Museum of Thessalonica, devoted to Greek music. He was also involved in a significant project revolving around European medieval music. © James Reel /TiVo