Gheorghe Zamfir

Gheorghe Zamfir /'gěor.ge zam'fir/ (born April 6, 1941, in Găeşti, Romania) is a famous Romanian musician who is a virtuoso on the pan pipes. He was initially self-taught and continued his education at the Bucharest Academy of Mu

Gheorghe Zamfir /'gěor.ge zam'fir/ (born April 6, 1941, in Găeşti, Romania) is a famous Romanian musician who is a virtuoso on the pan pipes. He was initially self-taught and continued his education at the Bucharest Academy of Music, where he was a pupil of Fanica Luca, and 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.

Largely through the numerous television commercials for his albums, he introduced the panflute to a modern audience and revived it from obscurity. He has made many albums of panflute music, and his song "The Lonely Shepherd" is featured in Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill Vol. 1. In the television series King of the Hill's episode "Propane Boom", Zamfir was suggested as a corporate spokesman to rival Mega Lo Mart's Chuck Mangione.