Mikael Fall & Fredrik Karlsson (Sweden)
Mikael “Mike” Fall is a university-educated composer and harmonica player from the small town of Rimforsa in southern Sweden.
He has studied music at KKL in Piteå, in the north of Sweden, for six years.Fall has a great passion for blues and jazz but also for classical program and film music.His examination concert in the spring of 2011 was a two-act show which included his own written compositions in program music and a score to the motion picture “The Great Train Robbery”. The whole idea of this production was to show the audience the versatile range of the harmonica.
Since 2011 Mikael lives in Stockholm and he has been playing, touring and recording music with many various artists and bands like Caroline af Ugglas, Lars Winnerbäck, Brolle, Lisa Lystam Family Band and more. In 2013 he became a winner in the World Harmonica Championship in Trossingen, Germany and in 2016 he received ”The Gunnar Hoffsten Scholarship” from Louise Hosten herself.
In the spring of 2018 he released hisfirst solo album called “Born In A Different Time” (released on vinyl, cd and digital platforms) were he revisited his early jazz roots. You can hear influences from early Ellington tunes and circus like atmosphere in the style of Tom Waits.This year he released an extended blues EP (available on 10” Vinyl, CD and Digital platforms) called ”Big City” with ”The Fallouts” and a Christmas EP called ”Goin’ Home For Christmas” is planned to be released on a 7” vinyl record and digital platforms in November. ”Big City” has also received a 5/6 rating from Bluesnews Magazine (Norway) just like ”Born In a Different Time”.
Fredrik Karlsson is a well-known Swedish blues musician, performing both as a solo artist (Fredrik & Puritanerna) and as a member of the Lisa Lystam Family Band. He is appreciated for his blend of blues, folk, and Americana music, as well as his Swedish-language songs.
Nami Miyata (Japan) & Yves Pelras (France)
Nami Miyata, an accomplished pianist and harmonica virtuoso, is a performer and an accompanist with exceptional sensitivity and skill.
After completing brilliant musical studies in Tokyo, Nami Miyata came to France, where she lives now. She is often invited to many Harmonica Festivals where she accompanies the greatest Harmonica players in Europe as a pianist. In 2003, she created the Harmonica Trio ”Comment allez-vous?”, which is very popular in Japan. In 2006, during a major Show Tour in Poland, for the first time she presented herself as a tremolo harmonica virtuoso.
Now in France Nami has become popular as a soloist on chromatic harmonica playing, including the highly original pipe organ and harmonica duo, where she will be accompanied by her husband Yves Pelras.
Yves Pelras studied the piano at the music academy of Versailles and also the pipe organ with Frédéric Désenclos in Paris. He is the organist at the Saint-Lubin Church in Rambouillet.
Harp’n’Harp Duo (Slovenia)
Heavenly music for a celestial atmosphere, presented by two instruments as distinct in size as in their tonal colors, consistently impresses audiences and enriches the souls of listeners. This refreshing tandem of two professional musicians, differing in age but perfectly harmonized, performs classical music at the highest level, employing delicately and poetically balanced instruments – the small harmonica and the grand harp.
Lara Pelikan, an extraordinary young harpist who frequently collaborates in various chamber ensembles, also takes pride in her pedagogical achievements with her students. Vladimir Hrovat, a violinist by training, multi-instrumentalist, concert harmonica soloist, and primarily a classical music composer, are both recipients of numerous awards. Vladimir has also released nine CD albums. At the end of 2023, they combined their musical talents to form the Harp’n’Harp Duo, performing music from the Baroque era to contemporary compositions, with a particular emphasis on the exquisite French music of the 19th and 20th centuries – Debussy, Ravel, Saint-Saëns. It is also worth noting Lara’s and Vladimir’s highly successful appearances as soloists with orchestras, which have elicited rapturous applause from audiences. For their small Estonian tour, the Duo is bringing specially selected programs and a new classical album.