Girma Yifrashewa | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 57–58) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Unseen Worlds |
| Website | girmayifrashewa |
Girma Yifrashewa (born 1967) is an Ethiopian classical pianist and composer. He is director of the Ashenafi Kebede Performing Arts Centre of the Addis Ababa University. [1]
Girma Yifrashewa was born in Addis Ababa in 1967. [2] In his childhood he played the krar, a traditional harp from Ethiopia. [3] At the age of sixteen Yifrashewa entered the Yared School of Music, where he began to learn piano. [4] In 1986 he began studying at the Bulgarian State Conservatory. [2] [3] He lost his scholarship in 1989 when the Bulgarian Communist Party lost power following the revolutions of 1989. [1] Girma spent two years in Italy and returned to the Conservatory in 1991 to finish his studies, funded by the Irish Christian Brothers. [5] [1]
He gave his first public concert at the Italian institute in Addis Ababa in 2001. [5] His debut album The Shepherd with the Flute was released in 2001, followed by Meleya Keleme (2003) with Michael Belayneh, and Elilta (2006). [6] Girma's fourth album Love & Peace was released by US record label Unseen Worlds in 2014, and comprises five solo piano pieces, including an homage to a melody written by Ashenafi Kebede, as well as traditional Ethiopian hymns and wedding songs. [7] Reviews of Love & Peace compared Yifrashewa's playing to pianists Scott Joplin and George Winston. [7] [8] The album reached number 23 on the Billboard classical albums chart. [9]
In January 2020 he gave the first ever grand piano concert in Ethiopia, at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel. [6] He has performed concerts across the world, including at Carnegie Hall and the Issue Project Room in New York. [1] [3] [10]