Michalis Cholevas

Michalis Cholevas is a Greek multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator. He is performing on the string instruments Yayli Tanbur, Tarhu, Saz and the Ney. His musical journey began in Athens, Greece, at the age of five, exploring a diverse range of traditions including Byzantine, Western Classical, Jazz, and Eastern Mediterranean music.

He specialized during a Ph.D. in Music analysis of Taksim performances for educational and performance purposes at the University of Macedonia. He developed the platform Makampedia. In addition, he holds several degrees, from Theoritical Physics to a Master in Performance of Music of the Ottoman Period. Since 2008 he is a teacher and modules developer for the BA and MA programs at Codarts, University for the Arts, Rotterdam.

A decade ago, Michalis founded the Lingua Franca Ensemble. More recently, he has been touring with the trio Ensemble Phos. Michalis has collaborated with various artists, including the Unesco Artist for Peace 2016, Kudsi Ergüner, Ahmad Al Khatib, Rima Khcheich, Angelo Badalamenti, and the George Kontrafouris Jazz trio. Additionally, he has performed as a soloist for the Apollo Musagette Quartet and the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, and his contributions as a recording artist have been featured on film scores.