He was born in Anatoli, Ierapetra. He studied Theology and Philology at the University of Athens, Byzantine Music at the Athens Conservatory and harmony at the Piraeus Conservatory. He completed a Master’s degree in musicology at the University of Copenhagen, where he also obtained his PhD (1977).
When the Chair of Musicology was established at the School of Philosophy of the University of Crete, he founded and headed the Laboratory of Musicology-Theatre Studies. It was equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and began recording traditional musicians of Crete, the first time a Greek university devoted itself to such research. At the same time, he organised numerous Western music events in Hall 3 of the University of Crete. In 1986, he became a member of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies of the Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH) in Rethymno. As part of these two institutions, he supervised research projects on Greek traditional music. In 1986, he founded the Municipal Byzantine Choir of Heraklion. In 1990, he transferred to the newly established Department of Music Studies of the University of Athens, where he taught ethnomusicology until his death. He also worked at the Hellenic Folklore Research Centre of the Academy of Athens.