Markus and Angelika are from different parts of the world. He is from East Germany. She is of Mexican and German descent, was born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised in a small village near Mexico City. They met at a street fair during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and quickly formed a romantic and musical alliance. The name Mirabai Ceiba reflects the couple’s pan-global outlook. Mirabai (1490-1547) was a legendary Hindu devotional singer. The ceiba tree is the sacred tree of Latin America.

Mirabai Ceiba’s debut album, Flores, was released on Spirit Voyage Records in 2004. It heralded the arrival of a new musical fusion inspired by far-flung influences. Markus’s forte is the plucked lute family—guitar and the Latin American charango and ronroco. Their filigree textures intertwine with Angelika’s nuanced playing on harp and piano, like the branches of two flowering vines. The couple sing mantras, chants from indigenous cultures, but they also compose many songs in Spanish and English, occasionally drawing on lyrical sources as diverse as the mystical Persian poet Rumi (1207–1273) and the Mexican poet and pan-Latin folk hero Nezahualcoyotl (1429–1472). Like the sacred tree from which they are named, Mirabai Ceiba’s roots run deep, and their branches reach out to envelop the world in a musical embrace of love.

Mirabai Ceiba’s artistry and fame have grown with each new album she has released. Ocean was named Best Vocal Album of 2008 by New Age Reporter. A Hundred Blessings (2010) received LA Yoga magazine’s Best of the Year honors. Mirabai Ceiba made several international bestseller lists with 2011’s Awakened Earth. This was followed by Shores of Our Souls (2012), which made New Age Music World’s Top 10 list and also won Best Vocal Album at the ZMR Awards. Her 2015 album Sevati reached number one on the iTunes worldwide charts in over 13 countries.

Along with their recordings, Mirabai Ceiba’s prolific touring and inspiring concerts have also helped build a devoted fan base around the world and garnered media acclaim. They have played to delighted audiences of 5,000 on the banks of the Rio de la Plata in Buenos Aires and over 1,000 at the University Concert Hall in Tel Aviv. Sold-out shows at the famous Teatro de la Ciudad in Mexico City, the International House of Music in Moscow, the Palladium in Warsaw and the National Concert Hall in Estonia have delighted Mirabai Ceiba’s international fans.

Their concerts are joyful and loving occasions that embody the duo's deep belief in music as a universal language, uniting all the peoples, cultures and traditions of the world.

“Where language ends, music begins, it crosses all borders,” says Markus. “We go to Argentina and sing with the people there and two months later we are in Amsterdam, for example, singing the same songs and people connect with them in a similar way. It’s really beautiful and inspiring.”

“We want to create this space where people can come to a quiet place within themselves, where they can truly listen to their inner selves,” adds Angelika. “A space where everyone feels welcomed and embraced in the recognition of a common humanity and how important and comforting it can be to connect from the heart, beyond all the possible differences that govern us in society. Then music can become a guiding thread to the vast silent space within, from which we can be, listen, create and connect.”

— written by Alan Di Perna