I accepted Peter (Panayotis) Tiboris’ proposal that I write his biography because I was intrigued by his life story. He started off playing the organ in St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox church in Sheboygan, MI and ended up becoming an internationally known conductor of classical music and a promoter of concerts primarily in Carnegie Hall but also places around the world, including the island of Syros.
His was not simply an achievement of the proverbial American Dream by yet another Greek American, not that that would not merit the story being told. What triggered my curiosity was the cultural and musical leap he performed by going from the music played in St. Spyridon to that played in Carnegie Hall. For all their success in so many fields, Greek-Americans have not been prominent in the world of American classical music. There are only two names everybody would mention in that connection, Maria Callas and Dimitri Mitropoulos, and neither of them had a conventional Greek-American upbringing. Such an upbringing, in the majority of cases would have emphasized the need for gaining security through making money as an entrepreneur or a white collar professional, a mindset that characterizes a big part of the Greek-American experience.
In Tiboris’ case his father Ernest (Anastasios), who was born in America, had done just that – becoming a dentist in Sheboygan. But he was also the director of the choir in St. Spyridon and encouraged his son Peter’s decision to choose a career in music. Interestingly, Peter’s younger brother Gus followed their father’s footsteps into dentistry.
Peter was born in 1947, and by the time he was still in school and playing for the church choir, but also performing at several other church, community, and school events, including weddings and music concerts. He and his father attended the first Greek Orthodox Choir Federation convention in Chicago in 1958 and the second one that met in St. Louis in October 1964.
His father permitted, indeed encouraged, Peter to go on to study music, become a college professor of music, and a director of college choirs. But Peter wanted more. There came the opportunity to conduct a concert in New York City held in 1984 in honor of the 25th anniversary of the appointment of Archbishop Iakovos to head the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America. The bright lights of Broadway beckoned, and Tiboris conceived of a risky plan to establish a company, MidAmerica Productions, that would bring choirs from all over America to perform at Carnegie Hall. He gave up his secure college position and moved to the New York area with his wife Susan and his two little children, Pete and Stephanie, to start a new career.
How does a biographer explain such near insanity? I think the move was a combination of a Greek-American entrepreneurial spirit and his vaulting ambitiousness and huge self-confidence. He said he got cold feet several times, and the move was done only because of Susan’s encouragement. I only half believed him because his whole life has been about striving for success and recognition, but his spouse’s support was certainly critical. Susan passed away several years ago, so we will never know her side of the story. The truth is that Peter always managed to surround himself with friends and associates who were able and supportive, and contributed to his success.
Peter’s biography was published just in time for a special concert held at Carnegie Hall last January to mark the 40th anniversary of the concert in honor of Archbishop Iakovos that got things going. It was followed by an evening of accolades for Peter at a cruise around Lower Manhattan hosted by him and his wife, the opera singer Eilana Lappanainen. In the numerous interviews I had with Peter during the writing process I got to know him well, and I was on the receiving end of all his qualities, his disarming charm and warmth, his generosity – as well as his pig-headed stubbornness, all of them characteristics that all his close associates confirm. It was unrealistic that the book be completed and published in time for the anniversary event and yet it happened.
I was grateful for the help I received from Dean Sirigos who copy-edited the manuscript, and Fr. David Enyon , the pastor of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Decatur, Illinois who designed it to make it print-ready, patiently dealing with Peter’s last minute changes.
It was a shock to learn that Peter had suffered a life ending stroke in Greece this past September only nine months after the event at Carnegie Hall. His funeral was held on the island of Syros, where Peter had established an annual music festival and where he and Eilana have a house. It was a hot and brilliantly clear day that reminded me of this great Greek-American’s sunny disposition.
