Music and mantras return to San José

An inspiring blend of song, mantra and meditation is set to fill San José’s National Auditorium next weekend with the return of Deva Premal and Miten to Costa Rica. Accompanied by Nepalese flutist Manose, the duo will give a meditation concert to soothe the senses and soul on Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m.

German-born Premal is a classically trained musician who grew up singing mantras as bedtime songs, her mother a musician and her father an artist and a devotee of the spiritual path, including Zen and yoga.

Singer-songwriter Miten of England had a successful rock career in the 1970s, touring with musicians such as Fleetwood Mac, Lou Reed and Ry Cooder. Though this period of his life was exciting, it left him unfulfilled, he says. “I … eventually found myself in my 30s asking questions – I was looking for something more substantial in my life than the usual diet of sex, drugs and rock and roll,” he says on the duo’s website, www.devapremalmiten.com.

Miten turned away from rock and roll and toward meditation music after joining Osho’s ashram in India, where he and Premal met in 1990. The two have since released more than 15 internationally acclaimed albums and played to devoted audiences around the world. This will be their third concert in Costa Rica. They will be joined by flutist Manose, who hails from Boudha, Nepal, and is trained in classical Indian raga music.

Tickets are priced at ₡21,000 ($42) for general seating and ₡28,000 ($56) for preferential seats, and are available online at www.mundoticket.com or by calling 2207-2025. The National Auditorium is in the Children’s Museum in downtown San José, at the north end of Calle 4.

The concert is being presented by Programa Meridiano, transmitted on Radio U, 101.9 FM, by the University of Costa Rica in the eastern suburb of San Pedro. The station will be playing Premal and Miten’s music throughout the week from noon to 2 p.m.

To learn more about Premal, Miten and Manose and to hear samples of their music, visit www.devapremalmiten.com.