Michael Paouris

Michael Paouris is an internationally acclaimed Soloist, Composer, producer, and virtuoso on the Bouzouki and Guitar. He is the first Soloist and Composer of Bouzouki and Acoustic Guitar to be honored with the “Oikothen Award” by the Academy of Athens for his contribution to Culture, his international recognition, and his innovations in composition and performance. This marked a historic moment for the Greek music community, as the Bouzouki had never before entered the Academy of Athens.

He is the first musician to officially introduce the Bouzouki into Jazz, and his classical and jazz compositions represent some of the most innovative ideas in the instrument’s 100-year history.

He was born in Athens in 1987 and raised in Tavros. From the age of 7, he was called a “child prodigy” due to his rare innate technique and extraordinary speed, which to this day remains unexplained. His career began at the age of 10. At 15, the composer Mikis Theodorakis compared him to the great composer and performer Manolis Chiotis. Mikis Theodorakis called him a “Phenomenon”!

To date, Michael Paouris has released 50 albums of Jazz Fusion, Latin, World, and Classical (Neo-Classical) music, along with collections totaling 2,039 classical compositions and works of every musical form. He has published 12 international books on music, technique, theory, and harmony, emphasizing the connection between music and philosophy and spreading the ancient Greek system of harmony worldwide through the method “Art of Technique & the Technique of Art,” which he created in 2011 at the age of 24.

He has received 69 First Global Awards, numerous honorary distinctions for his contribution to Music, and has collaborated with legends of the international music scene, including world-renowned artists such as Al Di Meola, Billy Sheehan, Rosenberg Trio, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Gumbi Ortiz, Franck Wolf, Suad Bushnaq, Mikis Theodorakis, and Mimis Plessas, as well as Greek artists including Thanasis Polykandriotis, Manolis Mitsias, Eleni Dimou, Alexandros Chatzis, Stefanos Korkolis, Giorgos Katsaros, and others.

He composes music that is rumored to be beyond the ability of any other performer to interpret. Guitarists and plectrum-string players from around the world attempt to study his Bouzouki technique as well as his unique Guitar style. He is regarded by many internationally as the greatest soloist in the history of any plectrum-played string instrument, as well as an exceptionally bold and inventive composer with a unique and innovative personal style.