Who am I?

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Who am I?

My name is Miroslav, I am called Mirek. Surname Patek means Friday in Czech.

I have (unforunately :-) no connection to the Swiss Patek-Philippe company, even if made the clock too - the musical clock!

Born in 1969, live in Prague, capitol of the Czech Republic. I am educated as MD and MBA, married, have two sons.

I played 10 years mandolin, in 1999 tried the Holoubek custom made resophonic mandola (open tuned, played with fingerpicks) which redirected me to the fingerpicked DGdg tenor banjo.

My main instrument is Janish tenor banjo tuned most of the time to DGdg. My second banjo Capek is mainly tuned to CGdg so I can manage the C tunes on frailing banjo.

Here is great banjo finale of both performers and visitors (like me) at Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival in September 2004. Yes, I am the one with white navy cap just next to Gerry O'Connor on the right side of the picture.

^{Photo made by Yoshiko Sue Tabata}

Also at Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival in September 2004 - photo with Earl Scruggs.

^{Photo made by Martin Stehlik}

Here I play in the night jam in bluegrass festival Jamboree Strakonice 2001.

^{Photo made by
Colonel}

And here I visited the bluegrass festival Banjo Jamboree Kopidlno in 1998. Note the partial capo placed on the second fret of G and D strings of my Krishot mandolin. The partial capo creates the open tuning AEae without destroing the voicing of closed chords. By the way - you can find some of my mandolin related ideas in the archives of CoMando maillist. Go to search and put into the author's address field this one: miroslav.patek@ch.novartis.com (it is no longer valid) and into Since field write April 1998.

^{Photo made by Irena Silence Pribylova}