Instructors

Certified - Master Instructor

Choir Director of Ergastiri Psaltikis

Athanasios Paivanas was born in Corinth.

He is a disciple of the First Cantor of the Great Church of Christ (Ecumenical Patriarchate), Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas, under whom he studied the art of Byzantine chanting from 1974 to 1982. During this period, he sang as a member of the choirs directed by Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas.

Since 1998, he has been the founder, director, and conductor of the Greek choir Ergastiri Paltikis®, known internationally as one of the world’s leading choirs in Byzantine ecclesiastical music, with an extensive record of concerts, presentations, and recordings.

He was one of the founding members of the Byzantine choir “Maestros of the Art of Chant” and one of the earliest collaborators of Professor Gregory Stathis, professor of musicology.

In 1983, Athanasios Paivanas was awarded a scholarship by the National Conservatory of Athens. In 1987, he obtained his degree in Byzantine Music with honours from the Conservatory of the Association of Piraeus (under Professor G. Malaphis).

He also studied European music at the National Conservatory of Athens and the Conservatory of the Association of Piraeus, as well as classical singing with the renowned tenor of the Greek National Opera, George Zervanos.

For more than 10 years, he was a member of the OTE Choir (Hellenic Telecommunications Organization) and the Choir of Corinth (conductor: A. Papagiannopoulos). With the support of the OTE Choir, he attended a series of seminars on choral conducting in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Athanasios Paivanas has lectured at the III, IV, and V International Musicological Conferences (Music Palace 2006, “Parnassos” Hall 2009, University of Athens 2012), as well as at the III World Congress of Byzantine Musical Culture (2011 and 2013, Athens).

In the summers of 2009, 2010, and 2011, he conducted the Master Class “Byzantine Music – Psaltic Art” at the International Festival “Academy of Orthodox Music” in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In 2012 and 2016, he was invited by the School of Ecclesiastical Music (SEM) in Beirut, Lebanon, where he taught the SEM choir and, together with the choir, performed concerts of Byzantine music. In 2016, he was also invited by the Institute of Orthodox Theology of Montreal to give a two-day introductory course in Byzantine music, held in the Small Parliament Hall of the Hellenic Community of Montreal.

In 2017, the Axion Estin Foundation in New York invited him for a series of lectures.

He became a collaborator with the School of Ecclesiastical Music of Montreal in 2018, and in May 2019 he was invited to give a week-long Master Class in Byzantine Chant to its students. A similar event was repeated in May 2023.

In December 2024, he directed the choir of the School of Byzantine Ecclesiastical Music in a concert of Byzantine music for the Feast of the Nativity. He was honoured by the Archbishop of Canada, His Eminence Archbishop Sotirios, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada (Ecumenical Patriarchate), in recognition of his years of contribution.

He has published the following works: 

• The Resurrection Hymnal (Anastasimatarion) of Orthros, according to the teaching and tradition of Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas; 

• The Funeral Service, a commemorative edition marking the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas; and, most recently, 

• The six-volume work The Holy and Great Week, which is prefaced by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and contains, in Byzantine musical notation, the musical interpretations of the Archons Protopsaltai of the Holy Great Church of Christ—Konstantinos Pringos, Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas, and Lampadarios Nikolaos Daniilidis—as performed in the Most Venerable Patriarchal Church between 1955 and 1963.

He is a professor of Byzantine Music at the Hellenic Conservatory of Athens.

Athanasios Paivanas is a graduate of the Institute of Physics and Mathematics of Athens (Department of Mathematics), with additional studies in Informatics. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois, USA.

He is a member of the Parnassos Literary Society, the European Art Center, and the Hellenic Mathematical Society.

He lives with his wife in Corinth, Greece.

External links: paivanas.gr, ergpsa.gr

Certified Instructor - Codirector

Andreas Kalamatianos was born in Montreal, Quebec, and holds a diploma in Electrical Construction as well as a degree in Instrumentation and Automation Technology from Vanier College. He currently serves as Business Product Manager, Solutions for Eastern Canada at Endress+Hauser, where he specializes in industrial measurement, automation, process optimization, and digitalization solutions across a broad range of industries.

Alongside his professional career, Andreas has maintained a lifelong commitment to Byzantine ecclesiastical music. He began his formal studies in Byzantine Music at the age of 13 under the mentorship of the late Archon Protopsaltis of Canada and Protonotarios of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Konstantinos Lagouros. At the age of 20, he succeeded his teacher as First Cantor (Protopsaltis) at the Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos (Evangelismos), a position he held for eleven years.

In 2018, following the retirement of his mentor, Andreas once again succeeded him as First Cantor at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, where he continues to serve. The same year, under the guidance of Konstantinos Lagouros, he was awarded the Cantor Certificate (Πτυχίο Ιεροψάλτου) by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada.

In May 2025, Andreas further advanced his academic and musical formation by earning the Diploma in Byzantine Music from the Hellenic Conservatory of Music and Arts (Ελληνικό Ωδείο), Kiti Branch, Larnaca, Cyprus, formalizing decades of study, liturgical service, and practical experience in the Byzantine musical tradition.

Throughout his musical journey, Andreas has participated in numerous Byzantine choirs, concerts, and liturgical recitals under the direction of distinguished teachers and conductors, including Konstantinos Lagouros and Athanasios Paivanas. He has also contributed to the organization and logistical coordination of major educational and cultural initiatives, including the seminars “Patriarchal Octoechos – The Ways of Ecclesiastical Music of the Church of Constantinople” (2019) and “Patriarchal Octoechos ’23 – Let Us Rise” (2023), presented by the School of Ecclesiastical Music of Montreal.

Since 2016, Andreas has served as Co-Founder and Coordinator of the School of Ecclesiastical Music of Montreal, operating under the auspices of the Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (now the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In this role, he has played an instrumental part in the development of educational programs, student mentorship, and the advancement of Byzantine ecclesiastical music education, successfully training and guiding students at beginner and intermediate levels.

Certified Instructor - Codirector

Studied Byzantine music with several teachers in Greece and Canada, including Michalis Mimaros (student of Theodosius Georgiadis), Athanasios Paivanas (student of Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas), and Mattheos Andreou (student of Emmanuel Vamvoudakis). Under the direction and supervision of Athanasios Paivanas, he was awarded a Diploma in Byzantine Music by the Hellenic Conservatory (Ελληνικό Ωδείο), Amarousion, Greece, ratified by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Greece.

He has participated in choirs in Greece and Canada. He has taught Byzantine Music at the Hellenic Center for Greek Studies and has given private lessons at home.

In April 2016, he organized a three-day master class in Byzantine ecclesiastical music, hosted by the Montreal Center of Greek Studies, inviting Athanasios Paivanas as a guest speaker to present and analyze in detail compositions of master composers from the 17th, 18th, and up to the 20th centuries.

Since 2016, he has been co-founder, coordinator, and principal certified teacher at the School of Ecclesiastical Music of Montreal, under the auspices of the Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (now the Archdiocese of Canada, Ecumenical Patriarchate).

He was instrumental in the coordination, artistic direction, and execution of several events and seminars held by the School of Ecclesiastical Music of Montreal: “Patriarchal Octoechos – The Ways of Ecclesiastical Music of the Church of Constantinople” (May 2019) and “Patriarchal Octoechos ’23 – Let Us Rise” (May 2023), "The August Passion" (April 2024), and "Thou Art Gof of Peace" (December 2024).

He participated in a team of coeditors of two pivotal publications by Mr. Athanasios Paivanas: 

• The "ANASTASIMATARION, According to the Tradition and Transmission of the Archon Protopsaltis of the Great Church of Christ, Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas"

• "THE HOLY AND GREAT WEEK (recording of musical interpretations by CONSTANTINOS PRINGOS and THRASYVOULOS STANITSAS)"

He has been the first cantor of the Greek parish of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Koimisis tis Theotokou), Montreal, since 2013.

Born in Montreal, he studied and graduated in Architectural Technology at Vanier College. He later traveled to Greece, where he earned a Diploma in Theology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Back in Canada, he completed a Master of Arts in Orthodox Theology at the University of Sherbrooke (QC).

Certified - Instructor

Born in Lebanon, immigrated to Canada, graduated from College de Maisonneuve, with a certificate in IT Management. Specialized in supporting mainframe systems.

Studied Byzantine Music in Lebanon, and was awarded a Diploma in Byzantine Music from the Hellenic Conservative, Cyprus.

He is the master cantor and choir director of the Church of Saint Nicholas Antiochian, Montreal QC. He has participated in multiple sacred musical festivals with his choir.

He is a gifted composer who has been working diligently and systematically for over a decade to arrange Byzantine Music in the English language, inspired by the classical compositions of Petros Peloponnesios and the modern Masters of Ecclesiastical Music of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Holy Patriarchate of Antioch, such as Constantine Priggos, Thrasyvoulos Stanitsas, Mitri Mur and others.

External Links:

Byzantine Melody

Certified - Instructor

Marios Kantilaridis was born in Thessaloniki in 1995 and has roots from Crete and Asia Minor specifically from his father's side from Constantinople and his mother's side from the big island of Crete. There, he began to learn traditional Byzantine ecclesiastical music, under the teacher Mr. Konstantinos Stefanakis, Archon of Hymnology of the most holy Church of Christ, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and cantor of the Metropolis of the Entrance of the Virgin, Chania, Crete.

He had the honor to serve for 3 years as an apprentice next to his teacher in the Metropolis of Chania and to attend the Byzantine choir of Steven the Melodos with many participations at home and abroad. He participated in recitals with this choir in Cairo, Egypt to represent Greece in a world music festival for the dissemination of Byzantine Music.

He then continued his journey in Byzantine Music in his hometown in Thessaloniki, and apprenticed for 2 years at the lectern of the Protopsaltis of the Metropolitan Church of Agios Georgios Neapolis of Thessaloniki, Mr. Panagiotis Neochoritis, the current Archon Protopsaltis of our Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Holy Church of Christ. He was for 2 years a member of the choir of the music association, "Romanos the Melodos" of  Thessaloniki, with a considerable and interesting teaching activity.

Decisive for his development in the art of psalmody was his meeting in Thessaloniki with his late and beloved man and great teacher Harilaos Taliadoros! He bared the office of "Archon Protopsaltis of the Holy Archdiocese of Constantinople"

Marios then studied at the Macedonian Conservatory and at the School of Byzantine Music of the Metropolis of Thessaloniki and was awarded a cantor's certificate, a diploma in Byzantine music, and finally a teacher's diploma in Byzantine music. A greater honor for him was that he sat next to the great master cantor of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia of Thessaloniki for a series of 4 years.

He has been called to serve in the pulpit 3 times going to Constantinople during Christmas and Holy Week and has chanted in the holy churches of the Royal City (Constantinople): 

• Our Lady of Blacherna

• Holy Church of Agios Dimitrios (the old Patriarchate)

He has served as cantor in Greece in various churches, 

• Holy Church of Evangelistria Chania

• Holy Church of Agios Dimitrios of Heraklion

• Holy Church of Panagia right of Thessaloniki

• Holy Church of the Dormition of the Virgin (40 churches) Thessaloniki

 He now chants in the Holy Archdiocese of Canada at the Cathedral of St. George the Trophy Bearer in Montreal.

Greek Language Instructor
PhD (Byz. Hist), Univ. of Peloponnese, MA (Byz. Hist.), Univ. Paris IV (Sorbonne)

Anna Kantika holds a PhD in Byzantine History from the Department of History, Archaeology and Cultural Resources Management at the University of the Peloponnese. Her research focuses on Byzantium during the reign of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos and the medieval world. 

She studied History and Archaeology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (with a specialization in History) and obtained her Master’s degree in Byzantine History from Paris IV-Sorbonne University. 

She has published articles and conference proceedings, focusing on the 9th and 10th centuries in Byzantium. 

She speaks English, French, Spanish, and Greek. She lives and works in Athens, Greece.

Education 

• 2019-2026: PhD in Byzantine History, Department of History, Archaeology and Management of Cultural Assets, University of Peloponnese, Greece.

• 2015-2016: Master (MA), specialization: History: Medieval Mediterranean World, Byzantine, Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, France.

• 2010-2014: B.A. (Hist. & Arch.), degree in History and Archaeology (specialization: History), Faculty of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.

Certified - Instructor

Ioannis Paivanas was born in Athens. He holds a diploma in violin, which he earned in 2010 from the Hellenic Conservatory with an excellent grade, first prize and a silver medal (class of Alexander Mato), and holds a diploma in Byzantine music (class of Athanasios Paivanas), with a excellent grade (class of Ath. Paivanas). 

For three consecutive years, he participated in the competitions of the Youth Choir and Orchestra (XON), where he was awarded First Prize and a Gold Medal. 

He has been a member of the “Orchestra of Colors,” the “Athens Philharmonic Orchestra,” the “Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra,” and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra of Athens (MSO). 

He is a founding member of the “Baroque Project Orchestra” and the “Multichord Ensemble.” He has performed in a series of concerts and recitals both in Greece and abroad. He has also attended violin seminars with Julian Rachlin and Dimitris Semsis. 

He is a member of the Byzantine Choir “Ergastiri Psaltikis.” He teaches violin and Byzantine music at the Hellenic Conservatory, the Madrigal Music School, and the Contemporary Corinthian Conservatory.