Yanni (born Yiannis Hrysomallis (pronounced Chrysomallis), (Lang-el??????? ???????????, classical transcription Giannis Chrysomallis), on November 14, 1954 in Kalamata, Greece) is a self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer. After receiving a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) in psychology, he instead sought a life in music though he had no formal training and could not read a note.

He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream (Dare to Dream (Yanni album)), and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time. His breakthrough success came with the 1994 release of Yanni Live at the Acropolis, deemed to be the second best-selling music video of all time. Yanni has since performed live in concert before in excess of two million people in more than 20 countries around the world. He has accumulated more than 35 platinum and gold albums globally, with sales totaling over 20 million copies. Yanni is considered to be one of the top fundraisers of all time for public television. His 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. His music is frequently described as "new age (New Age music)", though he prefers the term "contemporary instrumental". The regents of the University of Minnesota conferred upon Yanni the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. He attended the University of Minnesota where he successfully obtained B.A. in psychology and an honorary Ph.D in music. He received an honorary doctorate degree in music Doctor of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts.