About the Author
George Blytas was born in Cairo, Egypt, where he graduated from the Greek Gymnasium while the Civil War was raging in Greece. He first pursued a career in music and was instrumental in establishing a branch of the National Conservatory of Greece in Cairo. Political events in Cairo and the Middle East during the mid-1950's prompted a mass exodus of European professionals, and a change in his career plans. In 1956 he joined the graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he obtained his doctorate in Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in 1961. Upon graduation, Dr. Blytas joined the research department of a major oil company for a distinguished 39-year career in California, the Netherlands and Texas.
While working in the oil industry, he never gave up his love of music, and in 1973, he formed a small chamber group of amateur musicians, the Houston Sinfonietta. By 1979 the group had evolved into an orchestra, which then incorporated as a non-profit organization called the Houston Sinfonietta. The orchestra presented its first public concert on December 16, 1979, featuring Beethoven's Symphony No. 8, beginning a long tradition of bringing beautiful music free of charge to the Houston community.
Dr. Blytas has always been extremely proud of his heritage, and remains active in the Greek community in Houston. In 1975, he founded The Hellenic Professional Society of Texas and was elected its first President. He firmly believes in their goals of preserving and promoting the culture and heritage of Greeks in America.
George Blytas married Cora Ann Severson in 1963, and has two children: Constantine, an accomplished cellist and IT expert, who several times had to rescue the manuscript from the depths of the author's irascible computer, and Christina, a violinist with a Master's Degree in Fine Arts who has contributed to the book with editing and formatting for the many incarnations of the author's work, designing the cover and preparing his maps for publication, as well as creating the website.
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