Yiannis Orfanidis (Gr: Γιάννης Ορφανίδης) was born in 1904 in Varenou, Argyroupolis (today Gümüşhane). At the age of three he moved to Constantinople (today Istanbul) with his father who ran a shop at Scutari (today Üsküdar). He was educated in Constantinople and later worked in his father's shop for a year and a half. In 1924, he arrived in Pireaus, Greece following the forced exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. He began playing the Pontic lyra and singing in Pireaus at the age of 26. Orfanidis is considered one of the first-generation of Pontic refugee musicians whose music provided the foundation for future generations.
Sources:
pontosnews.gr
pontianlyrics.gr