There is an ancient Greek theatre on the southern slope of the Acropolis in Athens called the Herodes Atticus Theatre, built by the Greek aristocrat Herodes Atticus in 161 AD. Some 1,800 years later, another Greek, the musician Yiannis Hrysomallis – better known by his stage name Yanni – would sell out the 5,000-seat theatre and make modern musical history: The 1993 recording of his concert there – Yanni Live at the Acropolis – sold over 7 million albums and over a million videos, making it the second-best selling video concert of all time.

Yanni remembers that September night as clear as yesterday.

“Returning home to Greece for this concert was a very special, once-in-a-lifetime situation,” Yanni recalls today. “It was the first time that my parents were going to see me perform and it was at a venue that has been almost mythical to me since I was a young boy. There was so much energy and a lot of nerves but being able to perform for my mother and father was the best feeling I remember from the concert. They were in the audience and they had a light on them for the shooting and I could see their faces throughout the show.”

Yanni – who headlines Montreal’s Bell Centre on June 19, the Agora in Quebec City on June 20  and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on June 24 – is hailed as a national treasure in Greece.

“Well, that statement is quite a compliment,” Yanni says, “and I hope I live up to that. I think that an old Greek saying in response to this comes to mind. Loosely translated, ‘A person should not derive honour from the place they come from [but] rather a person should honour the place from which they come.’”

Still, Yanni returned home for that famous Acropolis concert like a conquering hero, after moving to America in 1972 to study at the University  of Minnesota, where he earned a degree in psychology.

“Studying psychology definitely has an influence on the way I create music,” says the self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer whose music has been adopted by the New Age movement. “When I create music, it is a reflection of my soul, my experiences in life and my relationships with other people and cultures. Psychology, and understanding who we are as people in this world, is present in almost every creative thought I have, either directly or indirectly.”

But Yanni doesn’t much like being pigeonholed as a New Age artist.

“Overall, it makes me happy that people are able to enjoy my music, including people who feel that I have a certain genre based in my music. [However], personally, I have never liked putting art into categories or assigning labels and defining art. I have always composed my music to honestly reflect the lessons learned and the experiences I have shared throughout my life… I have been fortunate to have been influenced by music from around the world and have reflected many of these various influences in my own compositions, from Asian, Latin, Middle Eastern, classical – even Rock and Roll, among others.”

But by his mid-20s he was deeply influenced by electronic music, notably the groundbreaking electronic music that producer Giorgio Moroder created with Donna Summer in the 1970s, songs like the landmark I Feel Love, which laid the groundwork for the electronic dance music of the 1980s and 1990s.

“I love that music,” says Yanni, now 57. “That [1970s] period of time was particularly influential on how I developed as an artist. With the new technology and instruments I became incredible fascinated by the electronic and keyboard possibilities. In fact, during that period of my career I focused very heavily on the electronic side of music. I continue to learn about new technology and how to use it [in] music. In fact, my last studio album, Truth Of Touch, was started by having fun experimenting with new sound designs.”

Fans can expect to hear some of Yanni’s new music and many of his older classic tracks on his current five-month An Evening with Yanni world tour that began in March.

Meanwhile, during a month-long tour of China last October, Yanni – whose song Santorini is included in the teaching and textbooks for all primary school students throughout China – became the first western artist chosen to adopt a giant panda.

It is a badge of honour Yanni wears with pride.

“I have had a very special relationship with China for many years,” he says. “This was a very heartfelt honour as China has reserved the adoption of Pandas for nations rather than celebrities or personalities. They also gave me the opportunity to name the Panda and after careful consideration, I chose the name Santorini. Santorini is made up of the Greek works for ‘Saint’ and ‘Irini,’ which means peace. Santorini also happens to be the most beautiful of the Greek islands, making this panda the ‘Beautiful Panda of Peace.’”

On his current tour Yanni has joined with the World Wildlife Fund to create the $50 Limited Edition “Santorini” Panda Adoption program which enables his fans to symbolically adopt a panda and support WWF’s panda conservation efforts.

While Yanni is keen to ensure the future of the panda, he also has one eye on his native Greece, whom many fear will collapse financially following that nation’s June 17 national election.

Yanni believes his music and concerts can be an escape, even a temporary reprieve – though he quickly adds, ‘I never create music to address any particular purpose. That way it allows each person to interpret and derive whatever works for them from the music.

“[But] I know that the Greek people are going through a very difficult time now economically. I have a lot of family and friends in Greece that I keep in touch with. I know the Greek people are resilient and I am confident that they will overcome this challenge, as they have done so many times in the past.”

Yanni headlines Montreal’s Bell Centre on June 19, the Agora in Quebec City on June 20 and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on June 24.

Click here for Yanni’s official website.

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