Stelios Kerasidis, Child Prodigy

Stelios Kerasidis is a ten year old award-winning pianist and composer, named amongst the Top 100 Global Child Prodigies at the Global Child Prodigy Awards in 2022.

Stelios was born in Athens in 2012 to Fotis and Agathe Kerasidis, both pianists who now teach him. He first performed in public at the age of three.

Stelios says his favourite pianist is the late Canadian Glenn Gould, best known for his technically demanding renditions of Bach variations.

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Already displaying a flare for composing, two of Stelios’s works written for his sisters, Veronica and Anastasia, as well as a third piece ‘Isolation Waltz’, have been met with critical acclaim.

Greek City Times speaks with him.

What influenced you to practice music and specifically the piano? Were you influenced by watching your father play the piano or did you find your own way to express your emotions?

Certainly, the fact that I was listening and watching my father playing the piano made me want to explore this instrument. I loved the sounds he was making and it definitely helped me that my father was by my side every step of the way. Today, I have my own way of expression and my own music which expresses my own feelings and concerns.

What made you compose “The Waltz of Isolation”?

The quarantine period was difficult and hard for everyone. I felt the need to compose a melody that I would dedicate to those who lost their loved ones to give them a little courage and strength. I didn’t even imagine that my music would travel around the world.