| MIKE RIGGERT- HARRIS Steel Pan, Keyboards and Percussion The ultimate smooth operator! |
Mike Riggert-Harris has been playing steel pan and studying Caribbean music for over 20
years. He is a classically trained musician, having earned Bachelor and Masters degrees in
Music Performance, with extensive studies in the music and culture of Trinidad and Tobago.
Mike began playing steel pan in Wichita, Kansas as a leader of one of the first U.S. University
steel band programs. He has associated with many of the top names in the steel pan industry,
having studied briefly with Andy Narell, corresponded with Ellie Mannette (one of the pan
pioneers with a strong claim to being the inventor of the steel drum itself, also known as “the
father of the modern steel drum instrument”), and is currently studying with Dr. Charles
Countee, the president of the West Coast region for Pan Trinbago, the leading authority for
the development and protection of the steel pan culture.
Mike has been studying and performing with The Caribbean Cruisers for the past twenty years.
years. He is a classically trained musician, having earned Bachelor and Masters degrees in
Music Performance, with extensive studies in the music and culture of Trinidad and Tobago.
Mike began playing steel pan in Wichita, Kansas as a leader of one of the first U.S. University
steel band programs. He has associated with many of the top names in the steel pan industry,
having studied briefly with Andy Narell, corresponded with Ellie Mannette (one of the pan
pioneers with a strong claim to being the inventor of the steel drum itself, also known as “the
father of the modern steel drum instrument”), and is currently studying with Dr. Charles
Countee, the president of the West Coast region for Pan Trinbago, the leading authority for
the development and protection of the steel pan culture.
Mike has been studying and performing with The Caribbean Cruisers for the past twenty years.