Dimitris Mikelis was born in Athens in 1976. From an early age he was involved with the piano and, as a student of the Experimental Music High School of Pallini (1988-1994), he came into contact with the oud. Immediately afterwards, she moved to the United States, where she studied piano at the Berklee College of Music (2001) and completed postgraduate studies in Jazz Performance at William Paterson University (2007). In the United States he had the opportunity to immerse himself in Arabic music, studying with the leading oud soloist Simon Shaheen.
In New York, he became a member of the Arabic music and dance group ‘Zikrayat’, with which he toured and recorded extensively, while he also founded the ‘Mitz Jazz Quintet’ with which he recorded his own compositions and performed in the city’s music scenes.
In 2009, he moved to Ramallah, Palestine, where he worked as a teacher of oud and piano at the Al Kamandjati Association and, later, at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, as a theoretician. He soon became a key member of the Palestinian National Arab Music Orchestra, touring the West Bank and abroad and recording an album with them. At the same time, he participated in smaller Arabic music groups and founded the ‘Ramallah Jazz Quartet’.
From a young age he has participated in music festivals in Greece and abroad, while he has a rich record and teaching career. Finally, he has composed music for films and documentaries, and has participated in various music projects to promote music education in Palestine; some of them supported by the European Union and the United Nations.