George Skaroulis
| George Skaroulis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | George Mike Skaroulis |
| Born |
August 15, 1963 Clearwater, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Neo Classic, new-age, ambient, soundtrack |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, photographer |
| Instruments | Piano, keyboards |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Evzone Music |
| Website |
georgeskaroulis |
George Skaroulis (born August 15, 1963)[1] is a Greek American pianist with 16 CDs to his credit and performances throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Early life
Skaroulis was born on August 15, 1963 in Clearwater, Florida, George began his love for the piano at the early age of five. His mother was a classically trained pianist and George would sit on the bench next to her to watch and listen. One day, he started playing along. It wasn't too long before George was figuring out the melodies of songs he heard on the radio. On weekends, accompanied by his father, George often played in piano stores at the local mall, and crowds would gather to watch. Despite his shyness and stage fright, George would also enter annual talent shows at school, perhaps an early indication he was destined to perform.[2]
At the age of ten, his parents encouraged piano lessons, but in five weeks George quit the lessons after his teacher discovered he was playing by ear. Uninterested with structure & theory, George wanted to play the piano his way, and never returned to formal training, or piano lessons ever again.
Career
As a teenager, George followed the footsteps of his Greek grandfather and had a rewarding career in the restaurant industry. He studied culinary arts, and eventually spent over 20 years in the restaurant business. Privately, he continued to play piano and eventually compose and create his own songs. After moving to Atlanta, he had an opportunity to record his debut album Homeland in 1996. It was then that George’s independent record label Evzone Music was born. His soothing style and flowing melodies struck a chord with massage therapists, Yoga instructors, spas and the healing arts.
After releasing 4 albums, George decided to put his restaurant career on the back burner, and took a leap of faith to pursue his passion for music full-time. Since then George has recorded 16 albums including Homeland, Numinous, Season Traditions, Athena, Generations, Second Nature, Return to Homeland, Snow, Forever Young, Adagio: the music of Chris Spheeris, Sanctuary, Reunion, Imagine, and Songs for Sophie. In addition, George has released two sheet music books of his original compositions.
Even animals have a positive response to George’s music. When the training and behavior coordinator of the Atlanta Humane Society began using George’s soothing piano music to relax anxious dogs in their kennels overnight, the calming results were remarkable. George organized several successful fundraisers to benefit the group and was soon named the Humane Society’s official musician in Atlanta.
George teamed up with best selling author Jennifer Skiff, and created the soundtrack for her book The Divinity of Dogs. The CD is titled "The Divinity of Dogs: Music to calm dogs and the people who love them”. The CD successfully climbed to the top 3 spot on Amazon’s hot new CD releases for January 2013.
George’s music has also been featured in several nationally aired PBS documentaries, and can be heard on: Music Choice, Sirius Satellite Radio, Martha Stewart Living Radio and NPR. George's Christmas album Season Traditions won Best Holiday Album of 2011 by solopiano.com.[3] He generously has performed benefit concerts for nonprofits including Haiti Disaster Relief, Tsunami Relief, Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, as well as the Humane Society, the American Cancer Society and AIDS research.
George’s very latest collection of all new intimate piano is the CD Passions. Even before it’s official release, the overwhelming response from listeners is quote promising. Passions is a collection of 19 all new solo piano compositions, and these songs are destined to appear as film soundtracks of the future. One of George’s other passions is photography. George is a talented photographer and recently launched a new website featuring many of his “passions” including vintage machinery and old pianos as well as his love for the world of food. He also offers cooking classes for Piedmont Hospital’s Cancer Wellness program in Atlanta.
Currently George is working with a company in Denmark creating music for a series of videos to promote awareness about securing safe and clean water for all. In the summer of 2012 he will perform his first concert tour in Korea. His Passions sheet music book will be available soon, and George will be releasing a guided meditation project in the very near future. All of George's music can be found on iTunes & Amazon.[4]
Personal life
George is also a photographer and currently is planning to combine his talents for music, food and photography, in his upcoming cookbook to be released in 2012.