By Nikolas Bardis

Theofilos Gazetas is the only organ maker in the city of Karditsa and he does his work with a lot of love and passion. He, in fact, declares that he is self-taught, but the passion and appetite he had from a young age were enough supplies to enable him to progress. He started, therefore, in 1993 in his father’s furniture shop, and only in 2006 he opened his own instrument workshop in Karditsa, where he makes musical instruments that travel around the world, transmitting the melodies and values ​​of rebetiko song. The first instrument he made was a baglamadaki.

When he started working in this industry, conditions were not particularly easy, as instrument making is not taught in our country. But, he studied, practiced hard and today he has clients not only from Greece, but also from abroad. The farthest country his musical instruments have reached is Japan! One of his clients, and now his friend, is Nobuka Sonoukhara, who on a trip to Greece fell in love with the rebetiko, and decided to buy her own bouzouki, to learn to play. So she did her research on the internet, until she discovered Theofilos’ workshop.

He ordered the bouzouki, and by watching various tutorials on YouTube he learned to play many well-known rebetika pieces. Her favorite song is “Cloudy Sunday” by Vassilis Tsitsanis, and when she plays with her company she never fails to play this song as well. She herself speaks English, but Theofilos does not, and as she jokingly says “they speak the language of the bouzouki”. And that is the magic of music. It can bring people from completely different worlds together and create strong bonds that last a lifetime.

Theofilos still remains faithful to his work and makes musical instruments with passion in Karditsa, while Nobouka travels the Greek sound to the land of the rising sun. Is there anything more beautiful and moving than seeing your work appreciated, and your fame reaching the ends of the earth? Theofilos Gazetas is the perfect example, that when you do what you love as a profession, you do it well and you stand out, whatever the circumstances, whatever the circumstances or the unpredictable developments of life.