Yoo-Mi Lee, Vancouver, Canada  "Dore's execution of the Tangents Greece Music Tour took 'wow!' to another level."


I have been listening to Tangents ever since it was broadcast on KALW both Wednesdays AND Saturdays from 9pm to midnight. And every time I tune in, I am just wowed by Dore's brilliant live curation. Dore's execution of the Tangents Greece Music Tour took that "wow!" to another level. The music, of course, was incredible - 12 concerts in 17 nights! - from intimate performances on replicas of ancient Greek lyres to music of the islands played by musicologists on a terrace overlooking Mt. Olympus to improvisational jazz in a black box theater in an industrial part of Athens. But it was Dore's attention to every single detail of the tour that impressed me deeply. From personal airport pick-ups and send-offs, to the choice of hotels and restaurants, to the in-country and inter-island transportation, and the tours and tour guides. We got to experience a Greece that most tourists do not get to see, from cities to mountain villages to remote beaches, and get to know all the drivers, restaurateurs, shop keepers, tour guides and musicians that have become Dore's friends over the many years he has been going to Greece. All in all, an unforgettable experience. Thank you, Dore!


Ann Rankin,  Piedmont  "You gave each of us a personalized experience in a way that I have never seen before."


Thank you for this amazing Greek Music trip! It was a deeply moving experience for me.  Dore's knowledge of traditional and contemporary Greek music is deep and comprehensive, and the number and variety of the concerts is exceptional.

Prior to joining this trip, I had heard some Greek and Balkan music, but nothing like the curated performances that you produced. The performances were all different from one another, and encompassed an amazing variety of instrumental and vocal artists, soloists, trios and quartets, traditional and modern and even ancient music, and a wide variety of highly skilled performers. I was certainly one of the least knowledgeable group members about music in general and about this kind of music specifically, but I went home with CDs that I will treasure and with great memories of one of a kind performances.

Without your involvement, none of these concerts would have taken place. In addition to our group, most of the concerts were attended by locals, who obviously were thrilled and revved up by them.  I came away from the tour with a new appreciation of traditional and modern Greek and Balkan music, and with amazement over the musicians who researched and re-created the ancient Greek lyre and played beautiful music on it.

This was my fourth trip to Greece, and I had  been in Athens and in Chania on Crete before but never in Thessaloniki or in the mountains.  I appreciated your sharing your knowledge of parts of Greece that are overlooked by most tourists.  We met many wonderful Greek people who were brought together by you and experienced authentic encounters that the average tourist would never have had.    

I also appreciated the fact that you handled every detail of the trip and gave each of us a personalized experience in a way that I have never seen before.  You handled our transportation to and from the airports, which I really appreciated.  You managed each challenge that faced any or all of the group members, and you created a temporary real community in which the group members helped and looked out for one another while sharing this special and meaningful experience.  You found great hotels and wonderful restaurants in addition to producing eleven amazing concerts.

I am so glad I joined the trip.  It exceeded my wildest expectations.  Thank you!!


Daniel Cardozo, Fairfax, California  "Dore is able to offer a travel experience that would be impossible to access any other way."


As a long time Tangents listener, I’ve wanted to join one of Dore’s Greek music tours for years. I’m so happy to have finally made it in 2025.  Dore curates a unique and unforgettable journey.  As a result of Dore’s deep knowledge of the music and the relationships and connections he has established over the years with musicians, music venues, guides, hoteliers and restaurant and café proprietors throughout Greece, Dore is able to offer a travel experience that would be impossible to access any other way. 

The 12 concerts were fantastic – an eclectic range of musical styles and contemporary and traditional instrumentation, exploring or inspired by and reinterpreting the musical and folk traditions from different regions of Greece and the wider Balkans.  A description of one of the performances is emblematic - “improvisational and chamber jazz loosely inspired by Bartók’s six Romanian Folk Dances” played by a quartet consisting of piano, upright bass, percussion, and led by Sokrartis Sinopoulos, a master of the modern lyra! 

I have vivid and indelible memories of so many of the performances – the dynamic and driving beat of the Daulute trio – Cretan lute, ancient Greek wind instruments and Cretan bagpipes and the hand drum – playing until 1:00 am in a packed taverna in Chania with the crowd singing along with the musicians; ancient lyra and accordion, with phrasing and notes played with such lightness and delicacy on a deck at the foot of Mount Olympus and overlooking the Aegean sea; Anna Linardou, an amazing vocalist ranging from throat singing to traditional folk ballads from various cultures and sung in multiple languages – one of my favorites of the night was a traditional Persian ode to a woman’s eyebrows – a performance shared with a bunch of Athenian hipsters in a third-floor walkup space in an industrial district of Athens; and so many more! 

Dore has also established relationships with guides who do not follow a conventional tourist script.  I am someone who travels, in part to better understand the undercurrent of politics, economic and social issues that are always swirling below the surface level exposure that most tourists encounter.  I really appreciated that the guides focused not only on the historical forces shaping Greek society, but that they also discussed contemporary political controversies and social issues.  I learned so much on these tours, including, for example, the tragic and different treatment of the Jewish communities in Athens and Thessaloniki during the Nazi occupation. 

I also appreciated that we covered so much of the country and spent time in central and northern Greece, away from the usual island and beach experiences that people associate with Greek vacations.  The dramatic mountains and deep gorges of central and northern Greece is not how I had imagined the country. The vibrant cities of Thessaloniki and Ioannina in northern Greece are also fascinating and off the usual tourist track. 

This trip provided everything one would want from travel in expanding one’s horizons – a new appreciation for the culture, especially the traditional music of the Balkans and beyond, a deeper understanding of the history and contemporary politics of the region and the geography and beauty of the place.  I’ve already ordered another book on Greece and the Balkans.  Thank you, Dore!


Mark Jacobs, Vancouver  "The Tangent's Greece Music tour is one of the most sophisticated, meticulously curated travel experiences imaginable."


The Tangent's Greece Music tour is one of the most sophisticated, meticulously curated travel experiences imaginable.  The concerts were intimate, varied, and invariably exquisite.  We had wonderful, casual access to these virtuosi musicians, and the resulting conversations were always illuminating.  The non-musical aspects of the tour were executed with equal care and expertise, from seamless logistics to local guides with nuanced academic and professional insight into the cultural history, social dynamics, and political history of many of the cities and countrysides we visited.



Jen Tait, San Francisco  "An unforgettable adventure!"

Arranged by Dore Stein, beloved San Francisco treasure who has introduced international music to the Bay Area and beyond, the Tangents Radio Show Greek Music Tour was beyond expectations.

Of course, Dore's sophisticated and heartfelt palette would be expressed in the selection of extraordinary musicians performing 11 concerts on the tour, but his long term contacts and friends, and familiarity with people and place brought ease to the overall experience.

My impressions that will always live in my soul:

1) Artisans and Beauty of Nature:
While I drink my Olympus Mountain tea tonight back in Ca, I feel like I am looking at the wood carvings of the lodge in the mountain village Palaios Panteleimonas. What a legacy the owner has to live amongst his father's carvings and hand built structure!


2) Ancient Sounds
To learn a bit about playing the ancient lyre in Thessaloniki from Theodoros one day, and then the very next day, hear him play transcendent sounds on the lyre on the deck of this lodge with Mount Olympus and the beach in the background... ecstatically beautiful!

I told Theodoros that when we had first learned a few of the artists who were going to perform on the tour, I was so drawn to Theodoros playing the lyre that I played his song over and over getting more and more mesmerized -- no wonder Orpheus used the lyre in ancient Greek mythology to soothe the savage beasts!

3) Contemplation and History
Another impression is contemplating the meaning of hope after our brilliant guide Alex in Athens said that the Greeks did not believe in hope. Instead, they believed the afterlife was simply a place where you forgot who you were. Many on the trip were talking about how one could craft a life without hope in it.

4) Architecture
Visiting the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum was an architectural dream. The museum's modern reverence for the ancient architecture and civilization is clear, but there is also the journey of the physical to the metaphysical. Looking down in the museum, there was a view of an unfinished archeological dig and looking up, there were shadows of people's feet walking above you... almost a meditation on sensing your place in the past, current and future -- all at the same time.

5) Singing
I had fun singing an excerpt of a Greek song to a few Greek people while on the trip. One man played his baglama for a few minutes for me for a lovely musical exchange.

6) Tour Group: The People
What was also very striking and meaningful was the caring the individuals in the group had for each other. Travel is often a gift and a distraction -- and, of course, an inspiration and learning opportunity. But this group had an extra level of curiosity and openness to each other.

There is so much more to say...

Many thanks for an unforgettable adventure!

In gratitude,
Jen Tait



Susan Bergmann, Oakland  "The highlight of the tour, for me, was the music of Theodoros Koumartzis and the Museum of Ancient Music". 





Bob Plumb, Wenatchee, Washington  "Thank you Dore for putting together a trip of a lifetime."


Thank you Dore for putting together a trip of a lifetime. I have heard great music, learned about musical instruments I knew nothing about, been to parts of Greece I never would have found on my own and eaten great food in a variety of restaurants. All while traveling with a wonderful group of people who have been supportive, interesting and fun to be with. 


Felipe Tejada, Takoma Park, Maryland  "How to express in words those experiences that change one’s life, alter one’s path, add new pleasures to living, or, most unexpectedly, open up new sensorial doors...let me give it a try."


How to express in words those experiences that change one’s life, alter one’s path, add new pleasures to living, or, most unexpectedly, open up new sensorial doors: that’s a challenge, but one that I am up to, so, let me, Felipe Tejeda, give it a try.

The 17 days spent in October 2025 with a very collegial Americos Canadian group of 17 Greek-curious folks, and a fearless, tireless, and ever-helpful Dore Stein, were an absolute delight. Quickly into the trip, once we learned each other’s names and the particulars of our various lives, the 18 of us became like familial cousins, looking out for and protecting each other, sharing medicines, herbal drinks, laughs, and learning new things together each day. I witnessed the group sharing the learning experiences of getting to know Greece and Greeks: from the southern sea island of Crete, to the mountains near Albania, from small villages and towns to three of the country’s largest cities, and, of course, several airports.

The 2025 Tangents Greek Music Tour was, for me, a series of new experiences of the Eastern Mediterranean, encompassing the cultures of Asia Minor, Greece, and the Balkans, and I experienced these cultures through their food, historical wonders, beautiful vistas, urban living, and music.

1. FOOD: Every day we were offered the tastes of cuisines that showcased the best of Greek food, from the sea and its bounty of fish and shellfish; the land and its edible riches of fruits, veggies, roots, herbs, teas, coffees, beers, wines and traditional spirits; and the animals and their vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and liquids.

On the October trip throughout Greece, we were offered scrumptious Greek and Eastern Mediterranean culinary delights, especially good for my ever-hungry pescatarian palate. We ate in family-meal convivial sit downs, where we all were invited to share our menu choices with our new acquaintances, now become like brothers, sisters, or cousins.

In locally-owned restaurants all around Greece, I tasted, and have now come to love food that is no longer foreign to me now: dolmades in many forms, spanakopita, boureki and a seemingly endless varieties of spinach pies; imam and various creamy eggplant sauces; moussaka with vegetables or lamb; numerous varieties of soups made of seafood, fish, lentils and beans; classic Greek salad served all across the country; Greek yogurt often served with cucumbers, dill, garlic, oil and lemons known as tzatziki; and the ever-present gyros, to name but a few.

2. HISTORICAL WONDERS: The Tangents trip that Dore organized around the country exposed us to historical wonders unearthed and explained by experts, seen from afar and visited up close, including ancient monuments from early Greek and Macedonian history, archaeological digs, and ancient but still inhabited villages and towns, mountain-top monasteries, timeless ruins and temples, forts and walled cities, some with museums abounding with information on history, material culture, dress, jewelry, musical instruments, art and archaeology.

3. VISTAS: The beautiful sights and vistas of Greece we were offered were seen from bus and airplane windows, and included guided walking tours, swimming holes and beaches, rugged and easy hiking paths, and bicycle rides.  We saw mountains, canyons and gorges, old scenic cobblestone villages and towns (many hugging mountains), and beautiful Aegean Sea vistas with harbors and bays, white sand beaches, lakes, piers, and wharves.

The ethereal waters of the Aegean Sea were on display during our tour, with a variety of luminescent colors and shades (intense blues, sapphires, deep blue/greens and bright turquoises), cloud-filled skies, and innumerable islands spread out like jewels in a crown. The hardiest among the group were offered opportunities to swim, and, as part of this group, I was able to swim at the Glyfada and Vouliagmeni waters near Athens and the magical Mylopotamos beach in Pelion.

Dore’s skilled planning and knowledge of Greece allowed us all to travel on winding, climbing and descending roads through forests, mountains, plains, farm fields, and seaside landscapes, sometimes with cliffs plummeting down one side of our ride.

4.  URBAN LIFE: Through Dore’s use of excellent guides trained as historians, archeologists, socio-cultural experts and committed citizens, the tours of Athens and Thessaloniki exposed us to modern Greek cityscapes that contained on their walls the murals of protests, pains, and politics of a modern state. This state, as expressed in the graffiti we saw, seems to value money, privilege, and autocratic control, and uses the fear of the other to trample on citizens’ calls for equity, equality, grassroots democracy (the Athenian dream), individual freedoms, and human decency. Through the guides we were made privy to these contradictions in modern Greek life.  The street-walking guided tours in the two cities were well-organized, and helped me understand life for Greeks today, the country’s long and storied history, current issues and some of the tragedies and high moments of Greek society and culture.

5. MUSIC: The new-to-my ears Greek music and new-to-my-eyes musical instruments of all kinds were an absolute delight.  For me, an ethnomusicologist and aficionado of many kinds and styles of music in the world, the window through which I learned the most about the culture of Greece was definitely its music: its sounds and styles, the musicians who perform it, the instruments on which it is played, and the socio-cultural themes that the music reflects and is sung about.

One way of understanding music is through what ethnomusicologists call organology or the study of musical instruments, what they look like, how their sound is produced, how they are constructed and played. Wow, did I get and eye and earful here.

•    The beautifully-constructed and intricately-painted, carved, and pieced together family of violin-like string instruments was ever present throughout our trip. These included the lyra of Istanbul, Politiki (Greek), Pontian and Cretan bowed lyras. Central to the performing ensembles ,the lyras played sometimes loudly and often prominently, with the frets facing the listeners, away from the player, who was often the ensemble leader. Often violins and upright acoustic and electronic basses were used, and once we heard the Kemangh Rumy from the Epirus region, a fabulously intricate 12-stringed violin, with sympathetic strings, that had been revived from almost 100 years earlier, after it had been abandoned for the clarinet and other folk instruments. Wow!
•    We saw and heard numerous guitar-like plucked and strummed string instruments: short and long-necked laoutos (lutes), ouds, panduras and santouris, most with beautiful carved necks, bodies of special woods made to resonate the sounds of the strings; as well as cellos, guitars, and bass violins. Again, wow!
•    Then, in a class all its own, is one of human kinds oldest instruments, the ancient Greek lyre, revived from a long dormancy by a group of Greek musicologists based at a museum in Thessaloniki who now construct, playand sell  these beautiful and delicate-sounding instruments, some with 7, 9 or 11 strings and various resonating bodies.
•    Flutes and reeds of various kinds and lengths, including the ney, clarinet, the metal Western flute, and animal-skinfat bagpipes including the Cretan askomandoura with piercing and energy-producing sounds that carry for long distances.
•    Percussion instruments, including frame drums, round and square,  African clay pots, sticks and spoons, and foot-stomping and hand clapping.
•    String sound boards and keyboard instruments, including the piano, accordion, marimba, and the zither family of instruments including the kanun, cimbalom and the ancient kithara.
•    And last but not least, was the vocal delivery of the human voice: soulful melodies, hard-driving and rhythmical singing, call and response numbers, audience sing-alongs, songs from villages around Greece and the world (Kurdish, Iranian, Lebanese, Appalachian, Estonian, Armenian, Romani) melismatic note-bending microtonal singing, modal scales, new rhythmic structures, jazz-like vocal deliveries, and, going well beyond melodies or songs with words (the ‘singing’ that we are so familiar with), were vocalizations with percussive pops, clicks, wails and hoots, and sounds sometimes layered over themselves in fascinating walls of animal-like noises imitating the audio scape of a dense forest.

The musical themes and songs sung about in the performances we heard covered a range of human emotions and experiences: love, acknowledged, unrequited and lost; sorrow and tragic loss; the Greek blues or Rebetiko, eliciting the hardships of life; and the joyful sounds of the Balkans with lively dance-themes. One theme that surfaced more than once was the Cretan Erotocritos saga or epic poem, an ancient story parts of which are sung by musicians even today that tells of thwarted love, constancy, cruelty, and redemption.

The musical venues that Dore found to expose us all to Greek music covered a gamut of locations: restos, bars, the Baumstrasse performance space in Athens, a private concert at our hotel in Chania, an open patio in Panteleimonas on a mountainside with Mt. Olympus behind us and the blue-green waters of the Aegean Sea on the other, museum halls, and opportunities for some of our group to wander and listen to buskers playing kanuns, accordions, guitars, lutes and ouds for money on street corners, bars and subway platforms, and monks chanting religious orthodox melodies in monasteries and village churches.

So, to Dore Stein, a big ‘efcharisto’.  Dore, you never failed to keep things under control, and were ever-available to help us out when it was most needed. Guide ‘par excellence’, teacher, shepherd, accountant, music producer, convener, vote counter, and first-among-equals, you never failed us. Your acerbic wit and humor lightened our days. For me, you provided the tools to learn on my own and experience the wonders of Greek food and music. You enhanced my life, introduced me to such beautiful newness that I had not even known existed, and added new friends to my life. I am forever in your debt. 


Janet Econome, San Francisco  "Dore has carefully selected musicians from each area we visited, highlighting the regional sounds."

Our 2025 Greek musical journey was great, especially the carefully selected music and the interesting and distinct places we visited.

I would never have discovered all these great musicians on my own trip to Greece. Dore has carefully selected musicians from each area we visited, highlighting the regional sounds, some more traditional, and some with a modern twist. A favorite group, featuring Katerina Papadopoulou, included a modern dancer that incorporated traditional Greek dance steps into a modern rendition that went beautifully with the music. I loved Katerina’s singing, which was so soulful and spoke of home, hearth, being and becoming, and she incorporated Greek sayings and nursery rhymes into her songs. Other favorite performers of mine included the Sokratis Sinopoulos Quartet, who mixed Balkan with contemporary music and featured the lyre.

The concerts are held in intimate indoor venues or on the deck of a gorgeous small mountain inn overlooking the gulf of Thessaloniki. Day tours are unique and not only explain Greek history, but also Greek modern life. This trip has given me a feel for how the Greeks live today, and also exposure to some great music and lovely places. Dore is a caring and organized tour leader who makes every effort to meet the needs of all participants. I highly recommend this trip to someone who loves music, and wants to discover new Greek musicians and modern Greece.


Patrick Moran, Mountin View  "Dore has created a one of a kind window into the heart and soul of the country through music."

Come to Greece. Dore has created a one of a kind window into the heart and soul of the country through music.  Among the diversity of concerts the favorites for me include the first two, featuring groups with a qanun player, and the two outdoor concerts in Palaios Panteleimon where the music was accompanied by palatial views of the surrounding mountains and the Aegean in the distance. Beautiful.


Stacey and Glenn Martin, San Francisco  "Our expectations were not just met, but exceeded at every turn."



Our Greece music tour was an amazing experience. We had fairly high hopes and expectations for the trip – knowing Dore and his passion for music and Greece – and our expectations were not just met, but exceeded at every turn.

The whole trip was planned with exceptional care, and all the intricate travel arrangements (three domestic flights, local transport, and bus tour) were taken care for us. All of this
 helped to relax, and enjoy the trip of our lifetime!

The tour included breakfast each day at our hotel, and one group meal at local restaurants.  We started each day with choices of fruits, breads, juices and Greek yogurt with more topping choices than I ever thought would go with yogurt – nuts, seeds, dried fruits, honey.
It changed my view of yogurt, and has since found its way into our home menus. Cooked to order eggs were also a choice at many of the hotels.

Group meals were mostly shared family style, so we always got to have tastes of a wide variety of items. Beautiful fresh salads, variety of filo pies, tzatziki, zucchini fritters, and the most delicious fish, lamb, and chicken dishes. We didn’t have a single bad meal. The best was in the mountain village Megalo Papigo. Trout, only a few hours out of the water was grilled to perfection.

Of course, it’s the Tangents Greek Music tour – so we have to discuss the music. We experienced music from a wide variety of talented and dedicated artists. The venue in Athens for all but one of the concerts was Baumstrasse which hosted a diverse range of art and artistic expression. It was a wonderful spot for an intimate concert experience. The first night concert was one of our favorites of the tour: Katerina Papadopoulou quartet, wonderful musical performance including a dancer performing what we might call “interpretive dance”.
It was mesmerizing.

Our hotel in the mountain village in Palaios Panteleimon featured concerts on the terrace of the hotel, looking over the beautiful waters. What a setting for ancient lyre and accordion music!  More wonderful concerts across Greece. Another favorite was near the end of the tour, back at Baumstrausse. Sokratis Sinopoulas Quartet. Last, but not least, was Banda Jovanica. They played in a crowded café, and performed the most joyful music. Our last meal of wonderful Greek food accompanied by wonderful music. A young woman at another table entertained us with a wonderful dance.

While we certainly looked forward to the beautiful seaside visions, we were not prepared for the astonishing mountain views. We visited Meteora, an area of incredible sandstone towers, from which ancient Greeks built monasteries right into the stone.  The whole area was stunningly beautiful.

All this was made possible by Dore and his impeccable planning, and the wonderful group of fellow travelers. We experienced such a warm level of kindness and support from everyone. We had experiences we would never have been able to have on our own, or likely any other tour. We highly recommend this trip to anyone!


Arlene Handzel, Carlsbad, California  "The camaraderie was more present and enjoyable in this diverse group."

I am a traveler who recently toured for the second time with Dore Stein and 16 others in the unique Tangents view of Greece this time.  If music is a source of joy in your life you should consider this opportunity when it is available.  I personally relate to music on an experiential and sometimes emotional level as well as entertainment.

I was originally concerned about being solo based on previous other experiences but I found that the camaraderie was more present and enjoyable here in this diverse group  than in some other standard industry tours.  I found myself enjoying some good laughs and humor which is a highlight for me anywhere.  The superior guides chosen by Dore also made the walking tours engaging.  Some of the "must see" museums were conveniently included in the tour which saves planning time for the traveler. The Acropolis 4 hour tour with Alex provided more insight into the history and relevance of ancient societies we all enjoyed.

An optional activity of a cooking class at a "farm" (most charming  farm I've ever visited) where a  group of us were impressed with the skills of the staff involved in the artful production of the ubiquitous Phyllo Dough in Greece resulted  in a huge vegetarian pie plus other favorite baked items. We all participated in every step of the process which  made it even more enjoyable to consume afterward with a fine glass of wine (or two).  The combination of the cities and the villages makes it more interesting as well.  Some people have more energy than others as with most groups but it is helpful to pace yourself for the busy schedule. Free time is available and there is room for your individual preferences.

Additional Testimonials

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