Yiannis Chryssomallis, known professionally as Yanni, is a Greek composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer.
Jonathan May was an American cellist and conductor. He resided in the Orlando, Florida area and was noted for founding and directing numerous youth orchestras and music programs throughout the region.
Rod MacDonald is an American singer-songwriter, novelist, and educator. He was a "big part of the 1980s folk revival in Greenwich Village clubs", performing at the Speakeasy, The Bottom Line, Folk City, and the "Songwriter's Exchange" at the Cornelia Street Cafe. He co-founded the Greenwich Village Folk Festival, now a non-profit, and is still the President and co-producer of its events. He is perhaps best known for his songs "American Jerusalem", about the "contrast between the rich and the poor in Manhattan", "A Sailor's Prayer", "Coming of the Snow", "Every Living Thing", and "My Neighbors in Delray", a description of the September 11 hijackers' last days in Delray Beach, Florida, where MacDonald has lived since 1995. His songs have been covered by Dave Van Ronk, Shawn Colvin, Four Bitchin' Babes, Jonathan Edwards, Garnet Rogers, Joe Jencks, and others. His 1985 recording "White Buffalo" is dedicated to Lakota Sioux ceremonial chief and healer Frank Fools Crow, whom he visited in 1981 and 1985, and who appears with MacDonald in the cover photograph. Since 1995 MacDonald has lived in south Florida, where his cd, "Later that Night" was named "Best Local Cd of 2014" by The Palm Beach Post and reached the top ten in national roots music charts. His first novel, The Open Mike, about a young man in the open mike scene of Greenwich Village, was published on December 5, 2014, by Archway Publishing. On December 10, 2020, MacDonald released his 13th solo recording, Boulevard, on Blue Flute Music. On April 14, 2021, his second novel, The American Guerillas, was published by Archway Publications. On June 1, 2023, MacDonald's 14th solo album, Rants And Romance, a collection of 14 new songs and 3 by other songwriters, was released by Blue Flute Music, charting in the top ten on national folk music charts during the summer.
Phil Cristian, aka Magic Cristian, is an American keyboardist and singer.
Live at the Acropolis is the first live album and concert film by the Greek keyboardist, composer, and producer Yanni, released on March 1, 1994, on Private Music. It was recorded at the Herodes Atticus Theatre in Athens, Greece during his 1993 tour in support of his eighth studio album, In My Time (1993). The concert took a year and a half to organise and cost Yanni $2 million of his own money to fund. He performs with his six-piece band and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Shahrdad Rohani. The album was mixed and produced by Yanni in his studio, and was made into a television special which aired in the United States on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
In My Time is the ninth studio album by Greek keyboardist and composer Yanni, released on the Private Music label in 1993. This album is a gentler collection of piano-focused pieces. The album attained Platinum status and was the second Grammy nomination for Yanni. It peaked at #1 on "Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart and at #24 on the "Billboard 200" chart in the same year.
Reflections of Passion is the first compilation album and sixth album overall by Greek keyboardist and composer Yanni, released on May 15, 1990, by Private Music. It is a selection of tracks from his five previous studio albums, released between 1980 and 1989, plus three new compositions. Yanni was encouraged to release the album by his then partner, actress Linda Evans.
Ethnicity is the eleventh studio album by Yanni, released on February 11, 2003 by Virgin Records. It peaked at #27 on Billboard's "Top Internet Albums" chart and at #27 on the "Billboard 200" chart in 2003. It also peaked at #1 on the "Top New Age Albums" chart in 2004.
Yanni Live! The Concert Event is the third live album by Yanni. It was recorded live at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas on November 6, 2004, and released in August 2006 as a CD and concert film on DVD. The album peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart; No. 6 on the "Top Independent Albums" chart; No. 84 on the "Billboard 200" chart; and at No. 84 on the "Top Internet Albums" chart, during the same year.
The iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre is a 20,000-seat open-air music venue in West Palm Beach, Florida. The facility, owned by the South Florida Fairgrounds, is a modern amphitheatre used primarily for concerts and other performances. The loading dock and backstage area is sometimes used for concerts that are general admission standing room only, while the amphitheatre stage is used as the backstage area in these situations.
Karen Briggs, also known as the "Lady in Red", is an American violinist. Born in Manhattan to a family of musicians, Briggs took up the violin at age 12 and committed to playing professionally at age 15. Briggs joined the Virginia Symphony Orchestra while still in college, but grew discontented with performing classical music and left the orchestra after four years. Since then, she has performed predominantly in the jazz and contemporary instrumental genres.
Alfreda Gerald is an American vocalist born in Morganton, North Carolina.
Pedro Eustache is a Venezuelan-born flutist, reed player, world woodwind player, composer, and instrument maker and collector.
The Heart of Stone Tour was the second solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher. The tour supported her nineteenth studio album, Heart of Stone. A mini tour was set up in the summer 1989, and a second leg started in 1990. The tour reached North America, Australia and Europe.
Ming Freeman is a Taiwanese-Canadian multi-keyboardist and pianist, musical director, composer and producer who has toured or recorded with artists such as Joni Mitchell, Yanni, Ronnie Laws, Chuck Negron, Jeffrey Osborne, Paula Abdul, Sheena Easton, Gladys Knight, Jean Carne and Michael Henderson. Freeman is a featured keyboard soloist in many of Yanni's DVDs such as Tribute filmed in India and China, Yanni Live at Royal Albert Hall in London, Yanni Live! The Concert Event, and Yanni Voices. Freeman has been noted to handle the more advanced keyboard work during Yanni's shows.
Armen Anassian holds master's degrees in Instrumental Conducting and Violin Performance, and studied in the United States, Armenia, and Germany. His teachers include Rainer Kussmaul, Sidney Weiss, Dorothy DeLay, and conductor Michael Zearott. Mr. Anassian has held Conducting and/or Concertmaster positions with such noted groups as the Hoboken Chamber Orchestra, Freiburg Chamber Orchestra, Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra and the Zelt Musik Festival Orchestra. In Los Angeles he has been Concertmaster/Guest Concertmaster with Pacific Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, California Philharmonic, Pasadena Pops, Burbank Symphony, Riverside Philharmonic, Inland Empire Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, Glendale Symphony, Symphony in the Glen and the Los Angeles Opera.
Giovanna Joyce Imbesi was an American pianist/keyboardist. She embarked on her first national tour with Yanni in 1987 to promote his album, Out of Silence, and performed during the "Yanni 1988 Concert Series" and "Reflections of Passion" concert tours. During this time she played alongside such musicians as John Tesh and Charlie Adams, and with various symphony orchestras such as the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Minneapolis Symphony. During the following years, she worked with a number of performers including Patti LaBelle, Jeffrey Osborne, Sheila E., Toni Childs, Starship, Narada Michael Walden and Andy Summers with whom she toured internationally. Following another national road tour with saxophonist Dave Koz, she released her first album in 2006, Short Stories: Piano Music for Healing, Meditation and Relaxation.
Yoonjung "Yoonie" Han is a South Korean-born American classical pianist.
Lauren Jelencovich is an American singer.
Lei'd in Hawaii is an unfinished live album by American rock band the Beach Boys that was produced shortly after the completion of their 1967 studio album Smiley Smile. It was initially planned to include the band's first live concert performances since their tour of Europe in May 1967.
