- published: 02 Jun 2013
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Yanni (/ˈjɑːni/YAH-nee), born Yiannis Hrysomallis (Greek: Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης Giannis Chrysomallis; born November 14, 1954) is a Greek self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer.
He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time. His breakthrough success came with the 1994 release of Yanni Live at the Acropolis, deemed to be the second best-selling music video of all time. Yanni has since performed live in concert before in excess of two million people in more than 20 countries around the world. He has accumulated more than 35 platinum and gold albums globally, with sales totaling over 20 million copies. Yanni is considered to be one of the top fundraisers of all time for public television. His 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.
Yanni was born on November 14, 1954, in Kalamata, Greece, and began his career by giving recitals for family members though he had no formal training and could not read musical notes. He was also a competitive swimmer in Greece and set a national record in the 50-meter freestyle competition at the age of 14. At the age of 18, he attended the University of Minnesota. As a student, Yanni joined an upcoming local group called Chameleon where he met drummer Charlie Adams. Chameleon earned some modest commercial success touring throughout the Midwest, particularly in the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and South Dakota. After receiving a B.A. in psychology in 1976, he sought a life in music. He moved to Los Angeles, in pursuit of movie soundtrack work. In 1987 he put together a small band which included John Tesh and Charlie Adams, and began touring to promote his earliest instrumental albums, Keys to Imagination, Out of Silence, and Chameleon Days.