Modulations 1

Christos Hatzis (1953)
Christos Hatzis is well known in Canada and internationally for his works. Covering a
vast range of styles and genres, his works have been recorded, performed and broadcast
throughout the world.
Hatzis was born in Volos, Greece, and his early music study took place at the Hellenic
Conservatory of Greece in his home town. He continued his studies in the United States,
where he earned degrees from Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York and SUNY at
Buffalo, New York. In 1982 he moved to Toronto, Canada, having decided that the country’s
multiculturalism was more suited to his own ethos. He became a Canadian citizen in 1985,
and joined the faculty of the University of Toronto in 1995.
Hatzis’ work has received a considerable amount of attention in recent years. With a large
number of presentations of his music in the Americas, Europe, the Middle-East and East
Asia every year, commissions by an international list of soloists and ensembles and several
recording projects by major labels, “Christos Hatzis is currently enjoying a growing international
reputation as one of the most important composers writing today” (CBC Records). The composer
is the recipient of several national and international distinctions, and a number of his works
are released on CD.
It is not unusual for a Hatzis work to become a signature piece for a soloist or an ensemble.
His Old Photographs and Dance of the Dictators have been performed by the Gryphon Trio
hundreds of times all over the world. There have also been an increasing number of all-Hatzis
programs during the past few years.
Hatzis’ music is inspired by proto-Christian spirituality, his own Byzantine music heritage,
world cultures and various non-classical music genres such as jazz, pop and world music. He
has created several works inspired by the music of the Inuit, Canada’s arctic inhabitants, and
his Inuit-inspired works, particularly the radio documentary Footprints in New Snow, have
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