Yanni (born Yanni Chryssomallis (, 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 Archangel, Straight Up, and Chameleon, he moved to Ca