Immigrant of the Day: Yanni (Greece)

Yanni (born November 14, 1954 in Kalamata, Greece) is a pianist, keyboardist, and composer. Yanni left his homeland at the age of 18 to attend the University of Minnesota. After receiving a B.A. in psychology, he sought a life in music.

After playing keyboards in local rock bands, Yanni moved to California. In 1987, he put together a small band and began touring to promote his earliest instrumental albums, Keys to Imagination, Out of Silence, and Chameleon Days. He later earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time.

Yanni’s breakthrough success came with the release of Yanni Live at the Acropolis, a concert filmed in 1993 in Athens, Greece. Yanni has since performed live in concert before in excess of two million people in more than 20 countries around the world. His North American concert tours in 1995, 1998 and 2003-5 each finished in the Top 10 concert tours of the year. He has accumulated more than 35 platinum and gold albums globally, with sales totaling over 20 million copies.

Yanni’s compositions have been included in all Olympic Games television broadcasts since 1988, and his music has been used extensively in television and televised sporting events. In 1997, he become one of the few performers allowed to perform at the Taj Mahal, India. His most recent live concert film, Yanni Live! The Concert Event, was released in 2006.

Yanni’s music is frequently described as “new age”, though he prefers the term “contemporary instrumental.”

Click here for the official Yanni web page.  Click here for a video clip of Yanni performing.

KJ