Takeaways
- The October issue of Forbes Small Giants features a profile of Mike Violinist, the stage name of Michele Calogiuri and founder of Mikevents. Written by Francesca Lai and published online on October 23, 2026, the piece traces Mike’s path as an artist and the birth of Mikevents.
- Mike started playing the violin at six, explored pop, rock, jazz and electronic music as a teenager, and spent about ten years as a civil engineer before turning to music full time. Today, Mike plays a five-string electric violin with an LED bow.
- Forbes describes Mikevents as a company working across luxury weddings, corporate events, hospitality and international productions, with more than two hundred events a year. Its method starts with listening to the client. The next chapter is a hub in the Middle East, already underway through several partnerships.
Forbes Small Giants tells the story of our founder, Mike Violinist, and of the method Mikevents uses to shape the music of luxury events
The October issue of Forbes Small Giants features a profile of Mike Violinist, the founder of Mikevents. Written by Francesca Lai and published online on October 23, 2026, the article is titled (in Italian) “Who is Mike Violinist: the artist-entrepreneur now taking the violin from luxury weddings to Dubai,” and you can read it in full on the Forbes website.
For us, it is a chance to look back at where we come from. The way we work today grew out of our founder’s own path, which ran through the conservatory, the club scene and ten years as an engineer before music became a full-time career.
Read also: An electric violin can change your wedding (for the better)
Classical training and the club scene
Mike Violinist, born Michele Calogiuri, first picked up the violin at the age of six, when the instrument was, as Forbes recalls, “the most fun game of all.” Mike’s grandfather was there for every lesson, waiting for hours until it ended. By nine, Mike was already the youngest student at the conservatory, and ever since, classical training has remained the foundation of everything that followed.
As a teenager, Mike’s listening broadened to take in pop, rock, jazz, Balkan music and electronic music. At eighteen came the first session work for pop artists and, in those same years, an entry into club culture through Joyfull Family Records, a techno label from the Salento, at the heel of Italy’s boot.
The profile describes that period in the Salento as the meeting of two schools, “the discipline of arranging on one side, and on the other a dance floor to be read in real time.” To this day, that is the dual skill set we look for in our artists, who may be asked to play in a church in the afternoon and on a dance floor at midnight.
Ten years in engineering, then a life in music
After earning a degree in civil engineering, Mike spent about ten years working for large companies until, as Forbes puts it, “Covid changed everything.” It was during those months that Mike decided to make music a primary profession.
From engineering, Mike brought to Mikevents the habit of treating every event as a project, with timelines, vendors and a backup plan settled before the artists ever take the stage.
The five-string electric violin and a film score
The instrument Mike plays today is a five-string electric violin with an LED bow. The fifth string, pitched lower than the four strings of a traditional violin, reaches down into the viola’s range, and thanks to amplification, the violin can hold its own inside a DJ set or in front of a band. This is how Mike blends a classical sensibility with electronic music, including in the shows that carry the Mike Violinist name.
Beyond the stage, Mike also works in the studio as a composer and producer, and is one of the composers of the original score for The Contract, a psychological thriller directed by Massimo Paolucci. Mike’s projects as an artist are collected on a personal website.
Mikevents in the pages of Forbes
The second part of the profile turns to Mikevents, which, according to Forbes, took shape “as a company dedicated to the musical and artistic direction of events.” Today, that work spans luxury weddings, corporate events, hospitality and international productions, with more than two hundred events a year, according to the article. At high-end events, Mike may take the stage as a violinist, serve as artistic director or stay behind the scenes. The profile also credits Federica Buda, singer and creative director, with a decisive role in our growth.
The passage that best represents us is the one about method: “first you listen to the client and study the guests and the venue, then you build the musical journey and choose the cast.” It describes the order in which we work. The artists come last, once it is clear what the evening needs to say, to whom and in what space.
In practice, everything begins with a briefing on goals, budget, guests and venue, from which we write the setlist, map out its emotional arc and prepare the technical rider. Only then do we choose the cast, and we rehearse with them on site before the event.
Among the brands for which we have shaped the music of an event, Forbes mentions Bulgari, Hard Rock, AS Roma, Mundys, Victoria’s Secret and American Express. On corporate clients, the article quotes a line we identify with: “a company is looking not just for entertainment but for a consistent expression of its positioning.”
A future that is, above all, international
The Forbes headline takes Mike’s violin “from luxury weddings to Dubai,” and it is from Dubai, where we have our headquarters in addition to our bases in Rome and Milan, that our next steps begin. There, we are building a hub for the Middle East, already underway through several partnerships, including those with Billionaire Dubai, Sexy Fish, Chic Nonna and the Sheraton group.
Forbes describes it as a bridge between Europe and the Persian Gulf and sums up the agency’s direction in a single line: “the future of Mikevents is, above all, international.”
Read also: Why staging a dinner show in Dubai demands a precise set of rules
Our method, for your event
For all of us at Mikevents, being featured in Forbes is recognition of a way of working that we build together with our artists, one event at a time, in Italy and in Dubai alike.
A selection of the projects we have handled is collected in our portfolio. If you have an event coming up, get in touch, and we will begin, as always, by listening.
Mike Violinist and Mikevents in Forbes: frequently asked questions
Who is Mike Violinist?
Mike Violinist is the stage name of Michele Calogiuri, an Italian violinist, composer and producer who blends classical training with electronic music. Mike plays a five-string electric violin with an LED bow, is one of the composers of the original score for the film The Contract and is the founder of Mikevents, an agency specializing in music planning and artistic direction for events.
What did Forbes write about Mike Violinist and Mikevents?
On October 23, 2026, Forbes Italia published a profile of Mike Violinist by Francesca Lai, from the October issue of Forbes Small Giants. The article covers Mike’s conservatory training, the ten years as a civil engineer and the decision to pursue music, then describes Mikevents, its working method and its plans for a hub in the Middle East.
What kinds of events does Mikevents handle?
Mikevents handles the music, artist selection and artistic direction for high-end weddings, corporate events, hospitality events and international productions. From its headquarters in Dubai and its bases in Rome and Milan, it works on events throughout the European Union and the Gulf states, and is also available to organize them elsewhere.