Samiou Domna

Domna Samiou was born on October 12th 1928, in the Kaisariani1 neighborhood in Athens . Her parents were refugees from the village of Baindir in the Smyrna (Izmir) area. Her mother came to Greece in 1922, whilst her father, who was a prisoner of war, arrived slightly later during the exchange of populations2. During her childhood years she lived the harsh life of a refugee, but was also surrounded with the humane solidarity of the refugee communities. That is where she acquired her deep connection with popular culture and her aptitude to participate. It was in these surroundings that she also came into contact with music for the first time and where she acquired her love for folk music.
At the age of thirteen, whilst attending night school, Domna Samiou also began to receive her first formal musical training from Simon Karas at the Association for the Dissemination of National Music, where she was tutored in Byzantine and Folk music, as well as being introduced to the idea of field research in music.