2. Gheorghe Zamfir /'ge̯or.ge zamˈfir/ (born April 6, 1941, in Găeşti, Romania) is a musician who is a virtuoso of the pan flute. Originally wanting to become an accordionist, at 14 years of age he began his pan flute studies and was initially self-taught. He continued his education at the Bucharest Academy of Music where he was a pupil of Fanica Luca at the Conservatory of Bucharest (1968). He came to the public eye when he was "discovered" by Swiss ethnomusicologist Marcel Cellier who extensively researched Romanian folk music in the 1960s. Made from the finest Chinese bamboo, he expanded the traditional Romanian-style pan flute ("nai") of 20 pipes to 22, 25, 28 and 30 pipes to increase its range, obtaining as many as nine tones from each pipe by changing the embouchure.

3. Medalia Vaticanului Ordinul Meritul Cultural al Franţei Titlul de Ofiţer şi Cavaler al Franţei , Belgiei şi Luxemburgului Ordinul Comandorului în Columbia Diploma Universităţii Don Bosco din Roma , de două ori Medalia de aur a Asociaţiei din cadrul Academiei de Artă, Ştiinţe şi Litere a Franţei , de două ori Premiul Academiei Charles Cros Premiul Ţitera de aur în Franţa Premiul Săgetătorul de Aur , în Italia

4. Throughout his 50-year-long career, Gheorghe Zamfir has won an overall 120 golden and platinum disc awards and sold over 120 million albums

5. In 1966 he is hired as a director of the ensemble "Ciocarlia" having under his baton 300 artists: the symphonic orchestra, the ballet ensemble, the folkloric orchestra and the soloists.

6. In 1981 his discs are released on the American market. Until 1985 they were sold in millions of copies in USA and Canada. In USA he gets 2 golden discs, unique event for an European artist, and in Canada, through all 5 millions of sold discs he beats all the records.

7. Largely through the numerous television commercials for his many albums, he introduced the pan flute to a modern audience and revived it from obscurity. One of his most famous contributions was to the soundtrack for the classic Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock. His music has also been heard on the soundtracks of many Hollywood movies. He was asked by Ennio Morricone to perform the pieces "Childhood Memories" and "Cockeye's Song" for the soundtrack of Sergio Leone's classic 1984 gangster film Once Upon A Time In America, his music is heard throughout the 1984 film The Karate Kid, and his song "The Lonely Shepherd" which was penned by James Last, and was recorded with the James Last Orchestra is featured in Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill Vol. 1

10. Zamfir was mentioned in two separate episodes of the television series Sports Night. In the episode "The Apology", Casey seeks advice as to what is or isn't "cool", and asks whether or not Zamfir is cool. In the episode "Kafelnikov", Casey uses Zamfir's name and status as "master of the pan flute" in a fake news story.

11. In 1986 he records his first disc with baroque repertoire, among which the Double Concert in B minor for violin and oboe by J.S.Bach with British Chamber Orchestra.

12. Zamfir once had a cameo on the Warner Bros. animated series Histeria!, in which he is one of a group of other historical musicians in a Dating Game-style show called "Duets". He is the only prospective bachelor that the bachelorette, Miss Information, is not interested in.

13. In France, Germany, Austria and Belgium, he receives titles and medals, gold and platinum discs, the Order for Cultural Merit of France, the title of officer and cavalier of France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

14. In an episode of the animated television series King of the Hill, "Propane Boom", Hank Hill suggests Zamfir as a corporate spokesman for Strickland Propane, mentioning that he's sold more records than the Beatles and "his music's better too".

15. Zamfir is the best-known exponent of the pan-pipes or nei, an ancient instrument of southern Europe consisting of reed or wooden pipes graduated in size and bound together in a row. His recording career began when he linked up with Swiss record producer Marcel Cellier, who recorded traditional folk tunes by Zamfir in the early 70s for release on his own label. Already popular in France, Zamfir found a mainstream audience in the UK in 1976 when "Doina De Jale", a traditional funeral tune was used as the theme for a BBC Television series, The Light Of Experience. Released as a single by Epic Records, it was a Top 10 hit. The record also sold well across Europe, and Zamfir was launched on a career in middle-of-the-road music, frequently recording pan-pipe versions of western tunes, pop, classical and religious. Thus, his 1985 album Atlantis included film music, pieces by Jacques Brel and Eric Satie, plus "Stranger On The Shore", the 1962 Acker Bilk hit. In 1979 Zamfir and James Last had a Dutch hit with the theme from "De Verlaten Mijn", and several of his 80s albums were recorded with Dutch orchestra leader Harry van Hoof.

16. In 1976, his single "Ete d'amour" becomes one of the hits of the year. In one of the tours he meets the German composer and conductor James Last, with whom Zamfir collaborated for the " Lonely Shepherd ", his second European hit. He has tours in USA at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center, Australia, New Zeeland, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Scandinavia, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria. He gets over 90 gold and platinum disks , 4 golden discs in South Africa, 4 platinum discs in New Zeeland, 4 golden discs in Australia.

17. The repertoire of G.Zamfir is one of the most varied. He contains from baroque and classic composers like Bach, Corelli, Vivaldi, Telemann, Schubert, Schumann, Puccini, to contemporary known composers like Lennon, McCartney, Billy Joel and Elton John. We must also remember his own compositions, beginning with concerts for orchestra and pan flute, to simple songs reflecting the Romanian popular tradition:

18. . İzmir Festivali Gheorghe Zamfir ve Madrigal Devlet Oda Korosu Efes Konseri . İzmir Festivali Gheorghe Zamfir ve Madrigal Devlet Oda Korosu Efes Konseri