Classical guitarist Milos Karadaglic will be performing for a sold out audience Thursday, Feb. 21 at the Valley Performing Arts Center.

Karadaglic, who goes by the stage name Milos, will be playing guitar pieces with Latin American, Moorish, Greek, Turkish, and Montenegrin influences.

30-year-old Milos began playing guitar when he was eight. He grew up in Montenegro, a small country of 630,000 people that was involved in war in the early 90s.

On his Facebook page, Milos credits his family as those who encouraged him to begin playing music. His mother would often ask him to play for the family while consequences of war, such as power outages, affected their home life.

He initially wanted to play piano, but his parents told him the instrument was too expensive. He played guitar because his father had an old guitar that once belonged to Milos’ uncle.

Milos’ skills increased rapidly and he was performing at major concert halls in cities such as Paris by the age of 14.

This led to meetings with some of the best classical guitarists in the world, including David Russell. Russell suggested to Milos to apply to the Royal Academy of Music in London. Milos applied and was accepted at the age of 16.

Milos graduated in 2004 and has been active performing worldwide.

He has performed internationally in places such as Zurich, Hong Kong, and Amsterdam.

His recent American performances have included performing with the Atlanta Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony, as well as a performance at Carnegie Hall.

Milos signed with Deutsche Grammophon, a Universal Music Company, and released his first album, “The Guitar/Mediterraneo,” in 2011. The album has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide.

Milos’ first album earned him multiple awards including Gramophone Young Artist of the Year and Echo Klassik Newcomer of the Year.

Milos’ second album, “Latino/Pasion,” was released in July 2012 and earned him the Classic BRIT Breakthrough Artist of the Year award.

Milos’ Feb. 21 performance at the VPAC begin at 7:30 p.m.