Mario honoured with Jericho Voice of Hope Award Apr 27, 2010
Mario Frangoulis, Global Tenor and Humanitarian, was honoured with First Ever Jericho Voice of Hope Award
Greek entertainer to be recognized along with VA Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth and New School President, Bob Kerrey, for his work to help homeless and veterans around the world.
Mario Frangoulis, global tenor and humanitarian whose versatile, multilingual talent has raised awareness for children and families all around the world, was recognized on Thursday, April 29 by Jericho Project, a nationally-recognized leader for the homeless, as its first ever Voice of Hope at the Jericho Project 2010 Gala “Celebrate Them Home.”
Victoria Lyon, Jericho’s Executive Director, said Frangoulis was chosen because “for years, he has used his voice to combat worldwide poverty, healthcare deficiencies, famine and homelessness.”
For Give Us Your Poor — the national campaign to end homelessness — Frangoulis joined Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Natalie Merchant, Danny Glover, Jewel, and others. As a Global Ambassador for Peace on behalf, he partnered with President Mikhail Gorbachev, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others to rescue children and their families from refugee camps in war-torn countries.
A versatile performer of stage, screen and musical genres, Frangoulis’ was discovered by Sir Cameron Mackintosh and worked with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, playing leading roles in West End productions of Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. His work has taken him on tour around the globe ever since, collaborating with artists ranging from Plácido Domingo and José Carreras to Celine Dion and Sarah Brightman.
Jericho Project congratulates Frangoulis’ for his musical gifts and global advocacy, “entreating his audiences across generations and borders to act on their humanity and lift others in need.”
At the Jericho Project 2010 Gala “Celebrate Them Home,” Ms. Lyon announced Jericho’s new Families Initiative to provide stable housing and success-oriented counseling, including its highly effective substance abuse and family reunification expertise, to the city’s most challenged families and children. Jericho’s Veterans Initiative is the first of its kind in New York in 15 years: two new Veterans Residences in the Bronx with state of the art counseling, and a special program to fast-track veterans and their families to furnished apartments immediately.
The event’s high-profile speakers included decorated Iraq veteran and former Black Hawk helicopter pilot VA Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth, and the Honorable Bob Kerrey receiving Jericho Project’s Ambassador of Hope Award. Deutsche Bank received the Corporate Champion Award for its work addressing the plight of homelessness and for being the first supporter of Jericho Project’s Veterans Initiative.
Jericho is a leading national nonprofit ending homelessness at its roots with five Residences in Harlem and the Bronx that has helped thousands of formerly homeless men and women get jobs, reunify with their families and transform their lives for the better. www.jerichoproject.org
Mario's Music Now Available on ITunes Mar 22, 2010
Great news for Mario fans! Mario’s albums are now available to purchase on ITunes so just click onto the ITunes store and search Mario Frangoulis and you’ll find all of his albums ready to buy!
Welcome to Mario’s updated website Jan 15, 2010
So 2010 is upon us and last year was a wonderful year for Mario! “Season of Love” is the title of Mario’s new cd which was released in Greece in December. It is an album with 12 songs from Oscar winning composer Manos Hadjidakis, one of Greece’s legendary and loved composers. The CD was recorded in Greece with the Manos Hadjidakis Ensemble and features 11 well-known Greek songs and a previously unreleased song by the composer in English called “The Sleeping Princess”. Pre-orders of the CD are available on this site in the music section – just click on the CD cover.
The CD follows the hard work of the whole year with endless rehearsals and a summer tour with the Manos Hadjidakis Ensemble in some of the most spectacular venues in Greece and then the studio recording of the album.
And in between, there was the release of “Mario and Friends 2 …it makes the world go around”, an album featuring songs from musicals and movies that are close to Mario’s heart that he performed live with his friends at the Athens Arena and of course concerts in Greece and abroad.
But Mario as you may all know is not just an artist, he takes his roles for the organisations he supports very seriously. In September, as International Ambassador for the World Centers of Compassion for Children International and with Betty Williams, Founder of WCCCI and Nobel Peace Laureate, he had the opportunity to be present at the Vancouver Peace Summit and was able to speak with other Nobel Laureates and his Holiness the Dalai Lama, about matters that affect children’s lives today and how important it is to achieve peace around the world and save the children who are our future.
That’s not all though! Mario not as an artist, but as host and presenter was asked to host the inaugurational ceremony for the new ‘Olympic Air’, the continuation of the Greek heritage of Olympic Airways and a national event.
2009 was a great year and from Mario and his team, best wishes for 2010!
A Call to Action for All My Fans Worldwide Dec 14, 2009
At the end of September, I was with Betty Williams as her Global Ambassador for Peace at the Dalai Lama’s Peace Summit in Vancouver. It was very inspiring and very enlightening. Interacting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and looking straight into his eyes, touching his forehead, and feeling his energy – gaining an understanding the quiet power of this man from so close brings me to a request of all my fans to try and reach deeper than just the performance or the signing of a CD. We need to try to understand each other and love each other and reach out to one another on a deeper level.
Suddenly I realized that most of my music has been about heroes and visions and achievements and trying to reach for the unreachable goal; and that the human effort to get better as time goes by, to humble yourself more and more. I realized that it is so important to become almost less commercial and more substantial, and be more true to one’s self and true to one’s soul by reaching out – especially to young people because in their eyes you can see the future.
We don’t want them to recreate the same mistakes or to give energy to false illusions… like the “instant” success, the reality shows, talk shows, etc. these things flood young people’s minds with despair. The most important thing is education… it doesn’t mean you need to go a school to be “educated”, but learn to have the need to be educated… to learn from people, to learn from reading, to want to be involved in life and especially human relations to learn to interact. Otherwise there is a sense of apathy and numbness and “I don’t care about what happens to anyone else but me”… and it’s not about the ‘me’ it’s about the ‘we’, and it’s not about the ‘I’ it’s about the ‘us’! We all have to think of ways of protecting each other, of supporting each other, of being there for one another and protecting our home… and in this case, our home is our planet.
If you are intelligent, you can survive without killing. Intelligence is not always a “given” it has to be cultivated. You may have a basic instinct, but then you have to work on it and you have to want to work on it. It’s about “take” but it’s about “give”… it’s about allowing… it’s about compassion… I was there yesterday at the Peace Summit when the Dalai Lama said, “it all starts from one’s self…” if someone has no self respect, and self awareness how can that person love another? It’s good not to know everything, and to want to find out. It’s the journey that matters, not just the result.
Mario honoured for his humanitarian work Nov 21, 2009
The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, one of the largest privately funded need-based scholarship providers in the US, announced that Mario Frangoulis will assume the role of "International Ambassador", a position that will have him serving as a mentor for young scholars.
"We are pleased to announce Mario as the Association's new Ambassador," said Terrence J. Giroux, Executive Director of the Washington-based Horatio Alger Association. "Mario is a talented and world-renowned musician, whose passion for mentoring young people and whose own Horatio Alger experiences qualify him to relate to the young people we serve. We believe Mario brings a broader perspective and new means to communicate the Association's mission and messages."
Mario will be named Ambassador for the Horatio Alger Association November 20, at the Embassy of Greece in Washington, D.C. where he will be performing as part of the Greek Armed Services Day commemoration. Mario performed November 19 at the Verizon Center with Sarah Brightman. The pair will perform duets together in 28 North American cities through the end of the year as part of Brightman's winter tour.
"No matter what your background is, no matter how much trouble you have in your life, no matter what your parents do or how much money they have, you can come out of it ahead. Never give up. Keep your passion going," Mario urges youth audiences across the worl
For more information about the scholarships and the organization, please visit www.horatioalger.org.
