Erini Tornesaki

Vocalist and educator Erini Tornesaki (aka "Erini") grew up in a musical family on the island of Crete, Greece. She played the piano and cello and performed with the municipality of Heraklion’s string orchestra and choir. As a descendant of Greek-Anatolian refugees, Tornesaki's mother introduced her to the Greek-Anatolian musical tradition. Tornesaki studied contemporary vocals at the British and Irish Institute of Modern Music at age 18. As the only vocalist for the show Kurios by Cirque Du Soleil in 2014, Tornesaki toured for three years, performing a total of 1,074 shows. Going on to complete a master's degree at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute paved new paths of experimentation for her, as she redefined the constraints of genre and birthed a new sound combining Greek traditional music with genres such as jazz, pop, and classical music. 

Tornesaki has had the opportunity to showcase her musical heritage at Carnegie Hall and WOMEX 2023 and has collaborated with artists such as Danilo Pérez, Daniel Hope, and Terri Lyne Carrington. She sang on the album Crisálida by Danilo Pérez featuring The Global Messengers, which was nominated for a Grammy in 2023. Based in New York City, she is also an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and has presented workshops and lectures of Greek traditional music at universities including Harvard, Princeton, and Tufts, among others. In recognition of her efforts to preserve Greek-Anatolian culture, Tornesaki has been awarded the Greek America Foundation’s 40 under 40 Award and the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Traditional Arts Fellowship.