Mike Herting is working as guest conductor, composer and arranger with the WDR-Bigband since 1998. Guest soloists of the celebrated crossover project between Jazzrock, big band tradition and world music in February 1999 were the Tunisian singer and Oud player Dhafer Youssef and Charlie Mariano.
The musical large-scale project “Sketches of Bangalore“ which combined musicians from India and the USA with the WDR-Bigband formed a highlight with concerts in the Philharmonie Cologne as well as at the Leverkusen Jazzfestival in 2000.
Continuous activities in crossover-projects lead to Mike being curator of Ruhrtriennale Festival in 2007. The same year sees another project with the Karnataka College of Percussion, U. Srinivas and the WDR-Bigband.
In 2009 Mike is guest conductor with the Bundesjazzorchestra and is busily writing music for the collaboration with KCP. Ongoing acitvities include collaboratiuons with the WDR-Bigband and singer/songwriter Wolfgang Niedecken.
in 2011 Mike conducts the BuJazzO during a tour through seven indian cities, togetehr with the Karnataka College of Percussion. In the beginning of the year 2012, Mike establishes the GlobalMusicOrchestra togehter with Walter Pütz and Ralf Plaschke.In 2012 he receives a scholarship from Goethe-Institut in West Africa, publishes the CD "Saint-Louis Blooze" and plays at the festival of Saint-Louis de Senegal. In 2013 Mike conducts a tour with BuJazzO and seven african musicians through Senegal and Guinea-Bissau.
In cooperation with mauretanian singer Malouma, Mike pioneers - starting in 2012 - in the transcription of the theory of "Musique Maure". This oral tradition of mauretanian music is in danger of disappearing.
