Grammy-winning producer, writer and ethnomusicologist Christopher C. King was presented with honorary Greek citizenship at a special ceremony held in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Maximos Mansion on Monday.
King took the oath with the Ministry of Interior’s Secretary-General for Citizenship, Athanasios Balermpas.
The description of King when he presented a TedX talk titled” The Healing Music of Epirus | Christopher C. King | TEDxAthens – YouTube” read: “A gentleman from the southern United States discovers folk music in rural Greece that is full of purpose–the music here is meant to heal those who hear it, participate in it.”
He was born and raised in southwest Virginia and studied philosophy at Radford University. Over the course of the last ten years, he has researched the tradition of Greek demotika songs, especially in Epirus.
In 2018, W.W. Norton published his book ‘Lament from Epirus: An Odyssey into Europe’s Old Surviving Folk Music’, to wide critical acclaim.
His book was named one of the top ten books of 2018 by the Wall Street Journal, and he has presented his work at the New York Public Library, the Gennadius Library of Athens as well as the Odeon Conservatoire in Athens, among other venues.
