Theodore Papakonstantinou
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Theodore Papakonstantinou (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παπακωνσταντίνου; June 15, 1948 – October 23, 1969) was a Greek composer, born in Thessaloniki, Greece. He was the third child and the youngest of his two siblings, Vasilis and Theano. Influenced by his mother Erato and his grandfather Theodore Varveris he was drawn to music, exhibiting his musical inclination from an early age.
He became familiar with Byzantine music as a child and together with his brother Vasilis (first cantor) chanted at St. Demetrius church at Sikies from 1958 till 1960 and at Aghia Triada (Holy Trinity) church in Thessaloniki from 1961 on. The family’s dire financial situation which followed his father’s serious accident prevented him from commencing his musical studies early on in life. He received his first music lessons from a young blind musician and friend at the School for the Blind in Thessaloniki. Theodore tutored him in his high school subjects in return for piano instruction and solfege.
In 1963, after having acquired his first musical knowledge of the Western European musical tradition, at the age of 15 he attended the “Thessaloniki Conservatory” (now called “State Conservatory of Thessaloniki”). Theodore Papaconstantinou studied under the following music teachers: I. Sideris (Instrumentation) Tasos Pappas (Music theory, Choir) Fani Aidali (Monody) Ch. Kalaitzis (Piano) Solon Michailidis (Counterpoint, Music morphology)