Greek Music Prodigy Stelios Kerasidis Among Top in the World

Greek musical child prodigy Stelios Kerasidis, who recently made it to a list of the top 100 prodigies around the world, has been selected for the prestigious “Global Child Prodigy Awards 2022.”

The Global Child Prodigy Awards, a global initiative to provide child prodigies the stage they deserve, told Kerasidis that among the thousands of applications it receives each year, “your exceptional talent, capabilities and hard work have made each of us proud.”

“You are truly an inspiration for millions of kids who have the fire, the zeal, the diligence and the talent to make them change the world, if guided rightly and offered the right platform,” the letter stated.

The 8-year-old pianist and composer has stunned the globe with his talent. In 2018, he became the youngest Greek musician to play at Carnegie Hall when he was just five.

Music prodigy pens “Isolation Waltz”

During the coronavirus lockdown, Kerasidis penned a tune that he called the “Isolation Waltz,” which became an instant hit on social media.

“Hi guys! I’m Stelios. Let’s be just a teeny bit more patient and we will soon be out swimming in the sea,” he told viewers as he beamed, perched on his piano stool, feet barely touching the floor. “I’m dedicating to you a piece of my own.”

The work, his third composition, was written especially “for people who suffer and those who isolate because of Covid-19,” he added.

In July 2020 Kerasidis dazzled the crowd at the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens where he performed at an event inaugurating Greece’s presidency of the Council of Europe.

Here's a clip from Stelios Kerasidis, 8, performing last night at the Temple of Olympian Zeus to mark the start of the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe. 🎼#Greece HT @coe2020gr pic.twitter.com/UVJTBWDzyM

— Derek Gatopoulos (@dgatopoulos) July 9, 2020

Music is in Kerasidis blood

Music is in Stelios’ blood, as his father is a piano soloist and teacher; his father has said that Stelios started playing the piano when he was a baby and had his first official lesson at age three.

Now, just five years later, Stelios’ favorite composers are Chopin, Beethoven, and Bach. He has performed in front of audiences that most professional musicians (who are adults) can only dream of, such as London’s Royal Albert Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein, as well as playing alongside the Athenian Sinfonietta orchestra.

He became known in his native Greece when he took part in the television show “Greece’s Got Talent”, where he demonstrated his talent and passion for the piano to an impressed audience.

Now, Stelios has an entire nation following him and cheering him on, anxious to see all that he will accomplish with his passion for music.