Eric Stanley

Eric Stanley (born April 19, 1991) is an American violinist, composer, arranger, and record producer. Stanley presents improvisational violin performances found on his YouTube channel, Estan247, which was introduced in 2009. As of March 2016, his YouTube channel has more than 128,000 subscribers and over 18 million total views.
In April 2015, Stanley made his national television debut on ESPN First Take and provided the theme song on violin.

Stanley was born in Chesapeake, Virginia and comes from a family of musicians. He has an older brother named Marcus (born 1985), who is a pianist, and an older sister, Anhayla (born 1988), a singer. He attended Short Pump Middle School in Richmond, Virginia. With the encouragement of his teachers, Stanley began playing the violin at age 12. He named Boyd Tinsley of the Dave Matthews Band as his major musical influence. When he entered high school, Stanley joined the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra.

2009–2014: Career beginnings

In 2009, at the age of 18, Stanley began posting videos on Internet websites YouTube, WorldStarHipHop, and PerezHilton.com. Stanley has experimented in combining improvisational violin playing with hip hop, pop, and classical. One of his first videos was a violin cover of Say Ahh by R&B artist Trey Songz. Other songs included Love the Way You Lie and Airplanes. During 2011 Stanley released The Eric Stanley Project, a mixtape. In 2011, he became a "viral sensation" and performed as the opening act for rapper B.o.B. In 2011, Stanley performed for President Bill Clinton in Orlando, Florida. He attended Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 2014.

2015-present: National attention and Eric Stanley EP

Following Stanley's performance on ESPN First Take, he announced the release of his debut EP Eric Stanley.

In September 2016, Stanley produced the soundtrack at New York Fashion Week for a presentation of the KLS collection by Kimora Lee Simmons.

In May 2016, Stanley founded the non-profit Reach for Strings Foundation to help inspire young students to find their passion through music.

Extended Play (EPs)

• Eric Stanley (2015)

Singles