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For the last 10 years, Michael Berk has
been stunning audiences around the UK, performing over 200 shows
with little more than a guitar and the occasional percussionist.
London's famous 12 Bar Club calls
him " one of the few truly gifted acoustic guitar players around
a true virtuoso".
Born on 23 March 1981, Michael began playing at
the age of 6 using his mother's old guitar and a Beatles songbook.
By the time he was 11, he was playing professionally with bands.
Since then, Michael has performed in 5 countries, has privately
taught over 80 students and is a regular session guitarist for several
well known London-based producers.
Yet it has only been over the past 2 years that he has received
recognition for his own music, leading one leading promotion company
to refer to him as "the greatest exponent of acoustic guitar
on the live scene
not for the faint of heart!" (taken
from Up All Night magazine last year).
London's former Human Soundwave Club says, "Michael stuns with
his intricate compositions".
A recent review from Guitar 9 Records (internet magazine) said:
"London fingerstyle guitarist Michael Berk has already been
compared to the likes of Michael Hedges, Adrian Legg and Preston
Reed, and the intricate compositions on his debut CD certainly invite
comparisons with these masters. Advancing a percussive style on
a steel-strung acoustic, album cuts such as 'All Enquiries' and
the title track leap from the speakers, displaying technical mastery,
a robust, commanding acoustic guitar tone and a passion for the
sensitive side of guitar playing. The unpredictability of his compositions
is also a strength - the music keeps your attention and offers a
sense of fullness of expression."
Michael has recently returned from the United States having performed
in New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, New York and competed in the
prestigious "National Fingerstyle Guitarist of the Year Competition"
held in Winfield, Ks.
Music from Michael's debut album "Organized Chaos", recently
appeared on the documentary "Cancer Cures" that aired
on the 3rd Feb 2004 on ITV.
From January to June in 2006 Michael performed
onstage at The National Theatre, on London's South Bank, in a play
called "Burn".
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