Honouring Takis Betzios (Takoulias): The Clarinet Tradition of Voio and the Pindus Mountains
Press Release
Event Series
The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments “Fivos Anoyanakis” – Centre for Ethnomusicology launches its new two-year programme, THE MUSICIANS. Nodes of Cohesion – Links of Continuity (2026–2027), dedicated to outstanding traditional musicians whose lives and artistic journeys have shaped Greece’s living musical heritage. Through concerts, talks and tributes, the programme highlights musicians as cultural mediators, community builders and living bearers of musical knowledge, celebrating the ways in which musical traditions continue to be transmitted across generations.
The opening event honours Takis Betzios (Takoulias), one of the most distinguished clarinet players of Voio and the Pindus region. For more than five decades, Betzios has remained a leading representative of the musical tradition of Western Macedonia, preserving a distinctive regional style while inspiring generations of younger musicians through his artistry and teaching.
Musicologist and musician Panagiotis Tournas will present the life and artistic legacy of Takis Betzios, exploring his contribution to the musical identity of his homeland and his role in safeguarding an important regional repertoire. More than an exceptional instrumentalist, Betzios has become a point of reference for the musical culture of Voio and an influential mentor for many contemporary performers.
The evening’s concert will feature a particularly symbolic collaboration, bringing together three generations of the Betzios family. Takis Betzios will perform alongside his son and grandchildren, presenting a programme of instrumental pieces and songs from Voio, the Pindus Mountains and Samarina, demonstrating how musical knowledge is transmitted naturally through family ties, shared experience and community life.
Performers
- Takis Betzios – clarinet
- Vangelis Betzios – clarinet
- Stamatis Betzios – clarinet
- Dimitris Betzios – davul
- Christos Kourkoutis – percussion
- Antonis Kostopoulos – trumpet
- Nikos Kardogiannis – trombone
- Panagiotis Tournas – vocals
Curated by: Panagiotis Tournas.
As part of the tribute, Takis Betzios has been invited to donate one of the instruments that accompanied his musical career to the Museum’s collections. The instrument will become part of the Museum’s new exhibition section, “The People Behind the Musical Instruments”, which presents the stories, memories and artistic legacy of remarkable traditional musicians through their personal instruments, archival material and oral testimonies.
The event is part of the Museum’s new two-year programme THE MUSICIANS. Nodes of Cohesion – Links of Continuity (2026–2027), which explores the lives of musicians as key figures in the continuity of Greece’s musical heritage, highlighting the social networks, artistic relationships and communities through which music is preserved, reinvented and passed on.
Free admission. Advance registration is required by telephone (+30 210 325 4129, Monday–Friday, 09:00–15:00) or by obtaining a free admission voucher through the more.com platform. The event is supported by Bodossaki Lectures on Demand (BLOD), the digital lecture platform of the Bodossaki Foundation.
