He was born in Syria to Armenian parents, grew up with a strong sense of Armenian heritage, and spent most of his life in Greece. «So there are many homes within me. Perhaps that’s why my music could never be confined to a single geographical boundary,’ Haig Yazdjian (Haig Yazdjian), one of the world’s most prominent figures in the field of world music, who will highlight the musical roots of the Eastern Mediterranean, Armenia, and the Balkans—which he carries with him—to a place with a rich historical and multicultural heritage: the island of Halki.
On Wednesday, September 9, at the island’s harbor, the master oud player Yazdjian, with his universal musical sensibility, will «speak» through music characterized by lyricism, virtuosity, and intense emotional power as part of the 5th Chalki Music Festival – Dimitris Kremastinos, which, under the title «Musical Roots,» will take place (September 8–12, 2026) for the fifth time under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Konstantinos Tasoulas.
«Over the years, you come to realize that you can love more than one place without feeling like you’re betraying any of them. Perhaps, in the end, a person’s true homeland is wherever they feel they belong,» he tells us.
He will be accompanied by the exceptional musicians: Giorgos Kontogiannis (lyra), Tasos Poulis (kanonaki), Giannis Kyri-kyridis (keyboards), and Thanos Hatzianagnostou (drums), creating a sonic journey filled with atmospheric musical wanderings and emotional shifts.
The Sound of the Eastern Mediterranean
The eastern Mediterranean has been characterized by population movements and migrations since early antiquity. If it were a piece of music today, what sounds would it have? «It would have many sounds all at once—and perhaps that’s why it would be a difficult piece,’ he tells us. »It would have an oud, a lyre, a kanun, a clarinet, percussion, voices in different languages. It would feature roads, the sea, ports, refugee life, migration, but also celebration. It would also have moments of silence.«.
For this master musician, the oud was initially a means of achieving a sound he was seeking. Over time, however, it became much more than that. It became his voice. He explains what makes this instrument so special: «It doesn’t just dictate what to play—it invites you to listen. It has room within it for breath, pauses, and emotion. After all these years, it continues to reveal things to me. And that is perhaps the most beautiful thing about a musical instrument: the more you think you know it, the more you realize you haven’t exhausted it.».
He is a traditional musician who is, however, particularly open to new forms of expression and has a unique, dynamic «interpretation» of the term «tradition»: “Tradition is the starting point, not a prison. Tradition dies when it becomes a museum piece. Tradition is alive precisely because it changes. If it doesn’t change, it ceases to be tradition and becomes merely a reenactment of the past.”.
How he worked with Loreena McKennitt
Haig Yazdjian has collaborated with many prominent Greek composers and singers, as well as internationally renowned soloists. Among them are Nikos Portokaloglou, Nikos Xydakis, Giorgos Dalaras, Savina Yannatou, Maria Farantouri, Dimitra Galani, Elli Paspala, David Lynch, Giotis Kiourtsoglou, Theodoros Kotonias, Michalis Nikoloudis, Dave Spilain, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Djivan Gasparyan, Ara Dinkjan, Theodossii Spassov, Glen Velez, and others.
In 2005, he was selected by Loreena McKennitt and participated, along with a select group of Greek musicians, in her album *An Ancient Muse*, which was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s legendary Real World Studios. Does he have any stories to share from his collaboration with the Canadian musician who has sold more than 14 million albums worldwide? «Working with Loreena was a very special experience, because I suddenly found myself in a musical world that was at once very different and very familiar,» he recalls. «I especially remember the atmosphere during the recordings: people from different countries, with different instruments and different musical backgrounds, trying to find a common sound. What I liked about Loreena is that she really listened. She didn’t just want a musician to play an “Eastern” oud. She wanted the musician himself and what he brought to the table. I participated in *An Ancient Muse* alongside other musicians from the Eastern Mediterranean, and that was followed by the performances recorded on *Nights from the Alhambra*.».
A «Handmade» Festival
Haig Yazdjian performs on the second day of a «handcrafted» festival where, among other things, the harp meets rebetiko, the lyre meets classical music, Zambetas meets symphonic sounds, and the Chalkites of Australia pay tribute to island life and immigration. Against this backdrop, what emotions do you feel when you take the stage? «With great joy, but also with curiosity. I like festivals that don’t try to pigeonhole music. And what you’re describing is exactly what makes it interesting: different musical languages come together without having to be alike. »For me, the stage isn’t a place to prove anything. It’s a place to share,” he replies.
In this unique context, one cannot fail to mention places like Halki, where history, memory, the sea, and the movement of people are so vividly present that one enters the scene already imbued by the place itself, as he characteristically describes. «A place like this makes you listen differently. Halki has the sea, the history, the memories of those who left and those who stayed. All of this isn’t just history—it’s material for a musician. I listen to the space, the people, the sounds around me, and I try to let all of that flow through the instrument. Perhaps that’s why the oud fits so well in places like this. It’s an instrument that has traveled far and wide. It carries memories of movement, encounters, and coexistence. And in Halki, I think the goal won’t be simply to play music for the place. It will be to let the place itself play along with us.’.
A Few Words About the Festival
This year’s festival program, under the artistic direction of Nikos Haliasas and with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) serving as communications sponsor, kicks off with a concert (September 8) dedicated to conductor Yannis Fourlanos, a prominent figure in the musical life of the Dodecanese, featuring the Elysium Duo and a collaboration with Spyros Mourikis, the leading clarinetist of the Athens State Orchestra. Next up is the Haig Yazdjian Quintet (September 9). The performance (9/10) by the Darlington String Quartet from Australia enhances the Festival’s international profile and highlights Chalki’s ties to the diaspora, while the fourth concert (November 11) is dedicated to Giorgos Zambetas, featuring the ERT Contemporary Music Orchestra and Kostas Makedonas, conducted by Tasos Symeonidis. The festival closes (September 12) with «Exefexe i Anatoli» («The East Has Dawned»), a unique dialogue between folk songs and rebetiko, accompanied by the ethereal sound of two harps. Visual artist Marianna Lourba created the work “Oimi” exclusively for this year’s event; it serves as the Festival’s visual identity and is on loan from the Roma Gallery.
Information: www.chalkimusicfestival.gr
Katerina Lyberopoulou
