R.Carlos Nakai & Peter Kater perform at Diana Wortham Theatre, Nov. 21 & 22

From a press release:

R.Carlos Nakai & Peter Kater perform at Diana Wortham Theatre, Nov. 21 & 22

Legendary Native American Flutist R.Carlos Nakai will join acclaimed pianist and composer Peter Kater for their 10th & 11th LIVE PERFORMANCES in Asheville at the Diana Wortham Theatre on Friday and Saturday November 21 & 22, at 7:30 p.m. $22/$35/$55. This concert is in Celebration of their first CD recording together in over ten years titled “RITUAL”

Between these two Platinum Recording Artists they have been nominated for 20 Grammys, sold over 10 million CD’s worldwide, and received dozens of international awards for their powerful recordings and performances as individual artists and together.

R. Carlos Nakai

Of Navajo-Ute heritage, R. Carlos Nakai is the world’s premier performer of the Native American flute.

Nakai’s first album, Changes, was released by Canyon Records in 1983, and since then he has released over thirty-five albums with Canyon plus additional albums and guest appearances on other labels. Nakai contributed music to the major motion pictures New World (New Line) and Geronimo (Columbia).

While cognizant of the traditional use of the flute as a solo instrument, began finding new settings for it, especially in the genres of jazz and classical. Nakai brought the flute into the concert hall, performing with over fifteen symphony and chamber orchestras. He was a featured soloist on the Philip Glass composition, Piano Concerto No. 2: After Lewis & Clark, premiered by the Omaha Symphony. Nakai also works with producer and arranger Billy Williams, a two-time Grammy® winner, in composing for and performing the traditional flute in orchestral works of a lighter vein.

In a cross-cultural foray, Nakai performed extensively with the Wind Travelin’ Band, a traditional Japanese ensemble from Kyoto which resulted in an album, Island of Bows. Additional recordings with ethnic artists include In A Distant Place with Tibetan flutist and chanter Nawang Khechog, and Our Beloved Land with famed Hawaiian slack key guitarist and singer Keola Beamer. Recently, Nakai released Voyagers with Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Udi Bar-David which blends Native American melodies with Jewish and Arabic songs.

Nakai has received one Platinum for Canyon Trilogy and a Gold record for Earth Spirit which are the first (and only) Native American recordings to earn these recognitions. He has sold over four million albums in the course of his career. His Grammy® nominations include:

Ancestral Voices (1994 Best Traditional Folk Album)
Inner Voices and Inside Monument Valley (both for 2000 Best New Age Album)
In A Distant Place (2001 Best New Age Album)
Fourth World (2002 Best New Age Album)
Sanctuary (2003 Best Native American Album)
People of Peace (2004 Best New Age Album)
Reconnections (2008 Best Native American Album)
Dancing Into Silence (2010 Best New Age Album)

Peter Kater

Multi-Platinum selling Pianist-Composer-Producer, Peter Kater, has received 10 Grammy Award Nominations in the last 10 years. He has been nominated for and won many awards for his music and is a proud recipient of the United Nations’ Environment Leadership Award. Peter is known for the diversity and technical and emotional quality and intensity of his music. He follows his own Muse (a prolific one at that) through a variety of instrumental genres never sitting comfortably in any single one. His love, respect and commitment to the natural world fuels much of his creative urges and instincts.

Peter has written the music for over 100 television and film programs and 11 On and Off-Broadway Dramatic plays. His broad creative stroke has touched millions of hearts all around the world and his commitment to the well-being of the environment has earned him the prestigious ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP AWARD from the UNITED NATIONS. Peter has also been nominated seven times for the Indie “Best New Age Album” award, winning the award in 1992 for his critically acclaimed album, MIGRATION, with Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai. He also contributed two songs to the wildly successful SACRED SPIRIT recording which sold over 5 million CDs world-wide. The majority of his albums have appeared in the Top 10 of National Airplay charts and in the Top 20 of Billboard’s New Age and Contemporary Jazz charts. Peter’s most recent two awards include the 2008 Toastmaster’s Communication and Leadership Award and the 2008 Native Spirit Award from the Indian Summer Music Awards.

In addition to scoring for film and television, Peter’s music was heard in the NBC broadcast of the 2000 & 2004 Summer Olympics; he collaborated with Kenny Loggins on his December CD and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City.