nikos ordoulidis

  • Musicologist / Musician
    Researcher, University of Ioannina, Greece
    info [at] ordoulidis.gr
    [complete CV]
  • 2012: PhD in Music, in the fields of popular musicology and ethnomusicology. University of Leeds, School of Music
    Thesis title: The Recording Career of Vasilis Tsitsanis (1936-1983). An Analysis of his Music and the Problems of Research into Greek Popular Music (http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/3230/). 
  • 2008: MMus in Music Performance, University of Leeds, School of Music
  • 2005: Bachelor’s degree, Department of Music Science and Art, University of Macedonia.

 

PUBLICATIONS

Monographs

  • 2021. Musical Nationalism, Despotism and Scholarly Interventions in Greek Popular Music. London and New York. Bloomsbury Academic (https://bit.ly/3LXn1Ra).

Articles

  • 2024. Electric Keyboards in Eastward Popular Musics. “Création musicale et électrification sonore en Méditerranée, XXe-XXIe siècle”, CEDEJ, Revue Egypte Soudan Mondes Arabes (ESMA) (pending publication).
  • 2021. 1911: Estudiantina Oriental on the Road. “Musiques grecques en représentation (xixe et xxe siècles)”, Bulletin de correspondance hellénique moderne et contemporain(5). https://journals.openedition.org/bchmc/949.
  • 2021. The Peregrinations of a Princess... Urban Popular Music of the 20th Century in the Network of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the South-Eastern Mediterranean. Recorded Sound Collections Journal, 2, pp. 249–282 (https://bit.ly/4078oQo).
  • 2011. The Greek Popular Modes. British Postgraduate Musicology, 11. http://britishpostgraduatemusicology.org/bpm11/ordoulidis_the_greek_popular_modes.pdf.

Book chapters

  • 2025. Manos Hadjidakis and the Exoneration of Rebetiko (?). In F. Finocchiaro & G. Seminara (Eds.), Music, Aesthetics, and Politics in the 20th Century. Accademia University Press (accepted for publication).
  • 2025. “Crossing the River”: Italian Songs Meet Greek Musicians. In S. Belguidoum, C. De Gourcy, M. E. Buslacchi, & E. Demetriou (Eds.), La traversée sensible—Récits et figures de la mobilité en Méditerranée. Presses universitaires de Provence (PUP), Sociétés contemporaines (pending publication).
  • 2024. The Piano in Greek Popular Orchestras of the Early 20th Century. An Overview of the Material. In E. Kallimopoulou & P. Poulos (Eds.), Popular Music of the Greek World (pp. 227–261). National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Press (online here).
  • 2022. The “ecumene” of the Greek estudiantinas. In M. Polatel, and N. Kosukoğlu (Eds.), Izmir and the Region: Hundred Years of Social, Economic and Cultural Change, 1850 – 1950 (pp. 95–106). Hrant Dink Foundation (in Turkish: https://bit.ly/3VTIRJS).

Articles in conference proceedings

  • 2024. Kokkonis, G., Ordoulidis, N., and Dionysopoulos, N. 2024. Historical Discography Management Platform and Crowdsource Practices in Music Archiving. In Garoufallou, E., Sartori, F. (Eds.) Metadata and Semantic Research. MTSR 2023. Communications in Computer and Information Science (pp. 220–227), vol 2048. Springer, Cham.
  • 2023. The term “Vlach” in Historical Discography. In V. Nitsiakos, K. Ntinas and N. Siokis, (Eds.) The Vlachs of Greece – Identities and Diversities in Place and in Time (pp. 213–236). Scientific Association for the Study of Vlach Culture (in Greek, online at https://bit.ly/4bbvHPG).
  • 2022. Eastward Heterotopias of the Piano. In P. Vouvaris, P. Kardamis, G. Kitsios, E. Spyrakou, I. Stainhaouer, & I. Foulias (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th Conference of the Hellenic Musicological Society (pp. 741–760). Thessaloniki: Hellenic Musicological Society (in Greek; English translation: https://bit.ly/43ANvzW).
  • 2021. Athens: Tatavliano / New York: Beykos. In K. Chardas, G. Sakalieros, & I. Foulias (Eds.), Proceedings of the 11th Conference of the Hellenic Musicological Society (pp. 418–423). Hellenic Musicological Society (in Greek: https://bit.ly/42K8Aqg).
  • 2020. The Princess’ Wandering. In G. Kokkonis, & S. Koziou (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th panhellenic conference (18-20 October 2019) (pp. 185–203). Centre for Historical and Folklore Research ‘Apollon’ – University of Ioannina, Department of Music Studies (in Greek: https://bit.ly/44S2qGD).
  • 2019. Approbations and Rejections in the Arrangements of the Rebetiko Songs of the Album “Six Popular Pictures”. Round table: High-Status and Popular Intertexts in Modern Greek Music. Case study: ‘Six popular pictures’ by Manos Hadjidakis. In Chardas, Vouvaris, Kardamis, Sakallieros & Foulias (Eds.), Effects and Interactions (pp. 668–678). Thessaloniki: The Hellenic Musicological Society (in Greek: https://bit.ly/42K9hQo).
  • 2018. Zoubouli, M., and Ordoulidis, N. “For the Craftsman, Borrowing is one of their Tools of Originality” (K. Palamas). In M. Zoubouli and P. Koriatopoulou-Aggeli (Eds.) The Rebetes’ Trial (pp. 45–51). Athens: Department of Popular and Traditional Music and Law School of Athens (in Greek: https://bit.ly/3M2vjXQ).
  • 2015. Urban Popular Music in the Greek Education System: Some Problematic Issues. In Foulias, Vouvaris, Kitsios, & Hardas (Eds.), Music and Musicology. Present and Future (pp. 204–209). Athens: The Hellenic Musicological Society (in Greek: https://bit.ly/3MlEwvW).

Encyclopedia entries

  • 2014. Vasilis Tsitsanis. Grove Music/Oxford Music Online.

Other publications (non-peer reviewed)

  • Evangelou, G., Kounadis, L., and Ordoulidis, N. “Exoticism in Greek-speaking Repertoires”. Virtual room in Kounadis Archive Virtual Museum (in English and Greek): https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/exoticism-en/.
  • Musical Palimpsests: Greek–Jewish Historical Discography. In E. Emery (Ed.), The SOAS Rebetiko Reader. London: Red Notes [online at https://www.geocities.ws/soasrebetikoreader/chap22.pdf].
  • 2022–2023. Permanent columnist in Ta Nea newspaper. Weekly article series titled “Musical Myths” (in Greek): https://www.tanea.gr/editor/ordoulidis-nikos/.
  • Kounadis, L., and Ordoulidis, N. “Cosmopolitanism in Greek Historical Discography”. Virtual room in Kounadis Archive Virtual Museum (in English and Greek): https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/cosmopolitanism-en/.
  • The Missing Pieces to the Puzzle that is Thessaloniki: The Alberto Nar Recordings Archive. In L. Nar (Ed.), I Remember: Holocaust Survivors Sing Sephardic Songs (pp. 8–24). Ianos (in English and Greek: https://bit.ly/3UHHTja).
  • The Eastern Piano Project - The Rebetiko Era. Pringipessa (in Greek: https://bit.ly/3VVpEaT).
  • Cloudy Sunday and the Akathist Hymn – A Mirroring or a Reflection? Athens: Fagottobooks (in Greek: https://bit.ly/3nYjLgv).
  • 2014. The Recording Career of Vasílis Tsitsánis (1936-1983). An Analysis of his Music and the Problems of Research into Greek Popular Music. Athens: Ianos (Ph.D. thesis translation in Greek).

INVITED TALKS AND SEMINARS

  • 2024. Anagnostou, P., & Ordoulidis, N. Folk Music in Interwar Greece: The Realities of Discography vs the Perceptions of the Scholarly World. Folk Music and the Political Imagination in Europe in the 1930s. University of Leeds, UK.
  • 2024. Byzantine chanting: Studying the Nation vs Studying the Musical Act. Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives on Music. Calling Disciplinary Distinctions into Question. Royal Academy of Letters, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • 2024. Our Song is Yours (?). Rebetiko Carnival. Cypriot Community Centre. London, UK.
  • 2024. The Wanderings of a Princess: Folk-popular music networks in early 20th century. Département Métiers de la Culture, Université Clermont Auvergne, France.
  • 2023. The Greek Estudiantinas. Smyrna – Athens, one song road, An event for the exhibition ‘Images and Musics of the Refugees of ‘22’. Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy & The Association of Smyrneans, Greece.
  • 2022. Popular Music and Politics in Greece in the 20th Century. Conference: El 22. La forma- concurso. The crystallisation of flamenco as a genre among world music. International University of Andalusia, XXII Flamenco Biennial, University of Seville, Spain.
  • 2021. Eastwards Heterotopias of the Piano. Department of Music of the University College Cork in Ireland (https://youtu.be/0hCaQo8-LIo).
  • 2021. The Peregrinations of a Princess: Urban Popular Music of the 20th Century in the Network of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the South-Eastern Mediterranean. The Promiscuous World of Jewish Music Series, California (https://youtu.be/Nf_Arx5fClw).
  • 2021. Musical Palimpsests: Jewish-Greek Historical Discography from the Kounadis Archive. The Promiscuous World of Jewish Music Series, California (https://youtu.be/QMM5MqCHX9M).
  • 2019. Eastward Heterotopias of the Piano. Seminar and Recital. Research Centre – Tsitsanis Museum, Trikala.
  • 2018. Deconstructing Dipoles: The “Ecumene” of the Greek Estudiantinas. Seminar at the Folklore Club, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • 2018. Deconstructing Dipoles: The “Ecumene” of the Greek Estudiantinas. Seminar at the Department of Social Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, Panteion University.
  • 2018. Eastward Heterotopias of the Piano. Seminar and Recital. Ionian Academy, Department of Music Studies, Ionian University, Corfu.
  • 2017. Ordoulidis, N., Kokkonis, G., & Pitsanis, A. Eastward Heterotopias of the Piano. A three-day event (workshop, seminar, recital). State Conservatoire of Thessaloniki (https://youtu.be/EDj5Mq61wrw).
  • 2015. Aesthetics of Greek Popular Music: The Compositional Technique of Vasilis Tsitsanis. Seminar: Educational Music Workshop “Historical Moments of Greek Song”. The Friends of Music Society – Music Library of Greece.
  • 2015. The Eastern Piano: Seminar – Exhibition of Historical Photographs – Recital. State Conservatory of Thessasloniki.
  • 2014. The Eastern Piano. Seminar. State Conservatory of Thessaloniki (https://bit.ly/3IswvTN).
  • 2014. The Eastern Piano. Seminar. University of Macedonia, Department of Music Science and Art.
  • 2013. Popular Musicology in Greece: The Case of Rebetiko and Laiko Musical Styles. Lecture. The Athens Centre.
  • 2013. The Role of Vasilis Tsitsanis in the Development of the Greek Urban Song. Seminar. Greek-French School ‘Eugène Delacroix’.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

  • 2024. Kokkonis, G., Ordoulidis, N., & Kazazis, E. Analysing Tempo Stability in Greek Rebetiko Music. The Case of Vasilis Tsitsanis’s Repertoire. Digital Technologies Applied to Music Research. Methodologies, Projects and Challenges, 27–29 June. School of Social Sciences and Humanities – NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal.
  • 2024. Kokkonis, G., Ordoulidis, N., Maistrelis, K., Brattis, P., Leonidakos, S., and Papazis, N. Semantic Modelling and Technological Innovation in Folk-popular Musicology – The Case of the Discography of the Greek Rebetiko Songwriter Vassilis Tsitsanis and the Reconstitution of the ‘musical world’ of his Time. Diskografentag: International Conference on Recorded Music, 10–11 June, University of Surrey, Department of Music and Media. Organized by die Gesellschaft für Historische Tonträger (GHT) and Early Recordings Association (ERA) (https://youtu.be/ZH2df1-Dwlg).
  • 2024. Shared Tunes and Musical Networks in Historical Discography. Diskografentag: International Conference on Recorded Music, 10–11 June, University of Surrey Department of Music and Media. Organized by die Gesellschaft für Historische Tonträger (GHT) and Early Recordings Association (ERA) (https://youtu.be/XjygcfzTcf4).
  • 2023. Kokkonis, G., Ordoulidis, N., & Zacharakis, A. A Musicological and Computational Comparison of Greek Folk-Popular Singers. 8th International Conference of the International Musicological Society, Regional Association for the Study of Music of the Balkans, Thessaloniki.
  • 2023. Anagnostou, P., & Ordoulidis, N. Musiques commerciales hellénophones: compagnies phonographiques et répertoires transnationaux. ‘Music, Bridges, Passages: Towards a Mediterranean Paradigm?’ – 14th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group Mediterranean Music Studies. Marseille.
  • 2022. Kucinskas, D., Zappala, P., Skalska, K., Kokkonis, G., & Ordoulidis, N. Ethnic Piano Rolls. Round table. Athens: International Musicological Society, 21st Quinquennial Congress.
  • 2022. Anagnostou, P., Kokkonis, G., & Ordoulidis, N. Interwar Discography and the Shared Music of the Balkans. Discographie: réseaux et circulations musicales entre la Grèce et les Balkans (panel). Quatrièmes rencontres d’études balkaniques – Balkans connectés. Marseille.
  • 2022. Cosmopolitanism in Kounadis Archive Virtual Museum. Paper presented at the 56th annual conference of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. Online (Detroit, Michigan).
  • 2018. The Maestro’s Riddle - The Pseudonyms ‘Moraitis’ and ‘Georgiadis’ of Spyros Peristeris. Coference title: The other self: Cryptonym, Identity and Distinctness in Artistic Creation. Music Village, Agios Lavrentios Pilio.
  • 2018. Deconstructing Dipoles: the Term ‘Minor’ in Smyrna. Fifth International Conference on Analytical Approaches to World Music (AAWM 2018) & Eighth Folk Music Analysis Workshop (FMA 2018). Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • 2018. The Eastern Piano: an Introduction and Certain Special Cases in Point. The 12th Symposium of the ICTM Study Group Mediterranean Music Studies Music and Sound at the Mediterranean Crossroads. Morocco.
  • 2017. Cosmopolitan Music by Cosmopolitan Musicians: The Case of Spyros Peristeris, Leading Figure of the Rebetiko. Conference Paper, Creating music across cultures in the 21st century, The Centre for Advanced Studies in Music. Istanbul Technical University.
  • 2015. Every Port is a Sorrow: The Bounds Between Sea and Misery in Greek Songs. Paper: International Conference: Thalassic Imaginaries: The Mediterranean Sea in Language, Art and Other Forms of Representation. Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta.
  • 2012. The Minore Dhromos [Popular Mode] in the Songs of Vasilis Tsitsanis. Paper: 1st Conference about the Life and Times of Vassilis Tsitsanis. The Institute of Rebetology, London, School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
  • 2011. The Greek Laiko (Popular) Rhythms: Some Problematic Issues. Paper: 2nd Annual International Conference on Visual and Performing Arts. Athens Institute for Education and Research.

Composition / Discography / Performance

Eastward Piano: www.eastward-piano.com 

  • 2022: Ordoulidis, N. (composer), new works commissioned by pianist Alex Peh (SUNY New Paltz, New York), performed on June 18 at National Sawdust, New York (“Piece of Minds”, “Serving”).
  • 2021: Ordoulidis, N. (composer, pianist), 6th personal CD album: ‘X–Terra / The Eastern Piano Project’ (https://bit.ly/3I53U6I).
  • 2017: Ordoulidis, N. (director), Orchestra Workshop, Department of Popular and Traditional Music, Technological Educational Institute of Epirus (https://bit.ly/32YuoFu)
  • 2015: Ordoulidis, N. (composer, pianist), 5th personal CD album: ‘The Eastern Piano Project – The Rebetiko Era’ (https://bit.ly/41xNbzR).
  • 2014: Ordoulidis, N. (composer, pianist), Music written for the short film ‘Alone’ (https://bit.ly/42wUQ2s).
  • 2014: Ordoulidis, N. (composer, pianist), American’s Odyssey Ϡ a short music film (https://youtu.be/YaYsD4yHExk).
  • 2013: Ordoulidis, N. (composer, pianist), Musical-drama reading ‘Saint Ignatius the Godbearer’. Work for three soloists, Byzantine choir and piano (https://bit.ly/42wVf4Y).
  • 2009: Ordoulidis, N. (composer, pianist, singer), 4th personal CD album: ‘Lyrical horizons, 10 popular songs for piano & voice’ (https://bit.ly/3BluK6E).
  • 2007: Ordoulidis, N. (composer, pianist, singer), 3rd personal CD album: ‘Flower scent’ (https://bit.ly/3VZAEDV).
  • 2006: Ordoulidis, Ν. (composer, pianist, singer), 1st personal CD album: ‘Two faced dream’ (https://bit.ly/3nTmyr9).
  • 2006: Ordoulidis, N. (composer), 2nd personal CD album: ‘Peace by Aristophanes’. Work for symphonic orchestra and children choir (https://bit.ly/42QcsX2).
  • 2005: Ordoulidis, Ν. (composer), 1st prize ‘Choir composition’. Wok ‘Kyrie Eleison’ for SATB choir and orchestra. 3rd International Competition of Volos.
TORUS web site