The unknown singer - Dr Thomas Venakis who taught at the Anogheia High School in the 1980s - who caused a sensation with the rizitika at the concert for Mikis Theodorakis

From the web-page ANOGHI

With the voice of an archangel, his interpretation was the equivalent of a whole orchestra, and filled with primeval music the hearts of those who attended and the whole of the Pan-Cretan Stadium.

Last Monday, 19 September, we attended in our city the concert given in honour of Mikis Theodorakis organised by Ergotelis. Taking part in this concert and singing his songs were the outstanding artists Glykeria, Dimitris Basis, Sophia Papazoglou, Katerina Papoutsaki, and Panaghiotis Petrakis.

The unknown singer who overwhelmed us with the rizitika In the resonance of the concert for Mikis Theodorakis

From the PATRIS newspaper

With the voice of an archangel, his interpretation was the equivalent of a whole orchestra, and filled with primeval music the hearts of those who attended and the whole of the Pan-Cretan Stadium.

Thomas Venakis: a remarkable man, a Cretan through and through ...

From the PATRIS and Rethemniotika Nea newspapers:

by Yorghis Sifakis

There are certain people who stand out as soon as you meet them. They mesmerise you as soon as you hear them talking or singing to you. Such a man is Thomas Venakis, son of Joseph, whose forebears originated in the village of Asfendou, in the Sfakia region, and then went on to grow up and achieve wonders in what is now the deserted village of Nisi, which was where Venosifis was born and bred, before creating his own family in Zouridi.

Nisi (= 'island'), which in the 1951 census numbered 27 inhabitants, was a village surrounded by rivers (hence the name), in a natural landscape of unique beauty, near the villages of Zouridi, Kato Poros, and Moundros. It is the location of the 'kollita' gorges, which should be visited at the first opportunity. This mention of Nisi is not a matter of chance. It was in this environment that Thomas and his siblings grew up, in a family following the traditional ways. He grew to love the manners and customs of Crete, as he listened to rizitika and Erotokritos sung and recited by the fine voice of his father, Venosifis. He grew to love the Cretan diet, provided by his mother, Vasiliki. The experiences of his childhood became a way of life for him.

Thomas Venakis: The Cretan who after gaining a doctorate in Chemistry and 34 years in teaching, sings the songs of Asia Minor

From the site: irakliolive.gr

by Maria Kallerghi

A figure straight out of the Bible, a Cretan through and through, Thomas Venakis surprises you first of all by his appearance. You are mesmerised by the directness of his gaze, and then comes the stentorian voice to complete the impression. When he sings the songs of Asia Minor, as in the case of the first on his CD 'My Precious Ruby and Sapphire', or rizitika, he awakens emotions and speaks to human hearts. No, Thomas Venakis is not some young man who is trying to take his first steps in song and music. He is a man with a long and distinguished career in education and music.

From website: VINYLMINE

From website: VINYLMINE

two CDs with Greek songs

After a long interval on Vinylmine, two albums of songs in Greek, from a company (Metronomos) which insists on ... Helleno-Hellenic.

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THOMAS JOSEPH VENAKIS: My Precious Ruby and Sapphire / Asia Minor songs [Metronomos, 2014]

With a doctorate in Chemistry, the Cretan Thomas Joseph Venakis is a singer in a tradition - an exceptional singer (tenor) in a tradition, who, having served his apprenticeship with the husband and wife Simon and Angeliki Karas (he was a member of the Demotic Song Choir of Simon Karas), now comes, many years later - today, that is - to give his own personal 'take' on a body of songs which, though generally described as being from 'Asia Minor', in reality (also) hail from the Dodecanese, the north-eastern Aegean, Pontus, and the Propontis.