Michalis Cholevas is a Greek multi-instrumentalist musician playing Ney, Saz, Yayli Tanbur and its descendant, the Tarhu.
His path starts in Athens, Greece where he studied Byzantine, Jazz and Eastern Mediterranean music traditions. At the age of 30s he moved to the Netherlands to follow a Master’s program in Turkish Music at Rotterdam World Music Academy (Codarts, University for the Arts, under the Dutch HSP excellence scholarship) where he now works as the Head of Studies.
Michalis studied with Ömer Erdoğdular, Kudsi Ergüner and Erdal Erzincan and he specializes in the eastern mediterranean modal music traditions. He has collaborated with several artists including the Oscar award winner Angelo Badalamenti, Kudsi Ergüner, Apollo Musagette Quartet, Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, the George Kontrafouris Jazz trio and Louisiana Red. Michalis holds a Bachelor's Degree in Natural Sciences which was followed by Master studies in advanced Theoretical Physics.