Yanni (born Yiannis Hrysomallis (Greek: Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης, classical transcription Giannis Chrysomallis), on November 14, 1954 in Kalamata, Greece) is a self-taught 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 would instead seek a life in music though he had no formal training and could not read a note. After playing keyboards in local rock bands such as Chameleon, he moved to California in pursuit of movie soundtrack work. In 1987, he put together a small band which included long-time bandmate Charlie Adams, and John Tesh, 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. His breakthrough success came with the release of Yanni Live at the Acropolis, a concert conducted by Iranian composer Shahrdad Rohani, filmed on September 25, 1993 at the Herod Atticus Theater in Athens, Greece, deemed to be the second best-selling music video of all time. A composition from this release, "Acroyali/Standing in Motion" has been found to have the "Mozart Effect". 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. Considered to be one of the top fundraisers of all time for public television, he has appeared on several major PBS Pledge TV Specials such as A Decade Of Excellence, including segments from Live at the Acropolis, Tribute, and Live at Royal Albert Hall, London. 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 became 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.
On May 6, 2004, the regents of the University of Minnesota conferred upon Yanni the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
