Summer Cabaret Series: Stephan Mikes
Saturday, 7/26/2008
Concert begins at 8 pm; gate opens at 7 pm
$20
The 2008 Summer Caberet Concert Series features eclectic and world music artists in an intimate setting during the summer months. The Estate hosts a total of three small concerts in the Stone House Ballroom in June, July and August. Guests are welcome to bring refreshments and snacks to enjoy during the show. Limited seating is available. Advance tickets recommended.
About the artist: Although many Westerners have been fascinated by the sitar, Stephan Mikes is one of the few who has undergone the years of rigorous one-on-one training in classical Indian music necessary to do justice to this ancient instrument. As a primary student of sitar master Roop Verma, Stephan is part of a teaching lineage that goes back over 600 years and includes Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
He combines his knowledge of Eastern music with the influence of Latin, Middle Eastern, Afro-Cuban, and Carribean rhythms to create compositions which are unique and compelling. In addition to the sitar, Mikes proficient on guitar, zither, mandolin, lap steel guitar and various types of synthesizers.
Since 1986, Stephan has been performing and perfecting his own distinctive technique on the sitar. He has released four highly-acclaimed CDs of his modern original compositions on the independent Akasha label; Before You See, The Good, the Bad and the Karmic, Dakini Beach and Secret Songs of the Sitar Player. He also has five specialty albums; Twilight: Evening Ragas, Sitar Christmas, Jewel of the Lotus: Sitar Meditations, Sounds of the Surbahar and East Meets South. Putumayo Records included Medium Rara from The Good, the Bad and the Karmic on their 1996 international release, Putumayo Presents: A World Instrumental Collection.
Miami's New Times annual "Best of Miami" issue 2004 named Stephan "Best Acoustic Performer," and previously he was named "Best Solo Musician."