Music award winner for Waterside Theatre

‘Jan Michael Looking Wolf’ is expected to be a popular event. Tickets are £10 and are available from the Waterside Theatre Box Office at 028 7131 4000 or theatre-goers can book online at www.watersidetheatre.com

Although Jan Michael is the great-grandson twice removed of Kalapuya Chief Joseph Sangretta, he is also the twice-removed great-grandson of James Dunn from Derry, Northern Ireland, who arrived in the United States in 1834. A close friend and genealogist from Ireland, Keith Wright, helped trace Jan Michael’s Irish ancestry.

During his tour of Ireland, Jan Michael also will have the honor of playing for Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

Jan Michael is a Native American (enrolled Kalapuya Tribal member in the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) with Irish heritage who lives near his Tribe’s reservation. He is an accomplished Native American flutist, recording artist, educator and humanitarian. With 18 CDs released internationally, he has won the aforementioned four Native American Music Awards. His dedication to making a positive difference, which includes a special CD for children battling cancer and a national Native youth drug and alcohol prevention music project, is a main driver of his music.

Jan Michael has headlined large festivals and concerts across the country. He has instructed cultural diversity courses at universities for more than seven years and taught more than 5,000 people how to play Native American flute. These days, however, his commitment to working for his Tribe takes precedence and his performance schedule is limited.

Performing in Ireland is especially close to Jan Michael’s heart.

“Every day, I wake up and feel grateful to be a Grand Ronde Tribal member and to have the blessing of our culture,” Jan Michael says. “We are all tied through Mother Earth one way or another. I am excited to meet my Irish relatives and share the native flute with them.”

Jan Michael’s life way and musical expressions are based on the Native American tradition of One Heart. In short, it is a truth that we are equal regardless of the color of our skin, tribal affiliation, language we speak, income, gender, faith, nationality or personal beliefs. ‘One Heart’ is the recognition of Unity Through Diversity. His music carries a message of hope for our children and oneness for humanity. In spring 1994, Jan Michael suffered two large strokes from a rare genetic enzyme disorder prone to Native Americans and had blood clots pass through his brain and heart and cause bleeding in the lungs. As a result from the strokes, he was paralyzed on the entire left side of his body for nearly a year. He received a miraculous healing and recovered nearly 100 percent.