CALEB COLLINS MIKLAS

Caleb Miklas also joins in the family tradition and plays Hohner Special 20 diatonic harps, Chromatica 261, Double Bass 265, and The Echo Tremolo Sextet.

He was born with a genetic disorder named Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS). BBS is a mutation of the genetic code in Caleb’s DNA which causes the incomplete formation of proteins in the Retinas, Heart, Liver, and Kidneys. At this time, Caleb diagnoses include Retinal Dystrophy, Pappiledema (swelling of the optic nerves), and Pseudotumor Cerebri (elevated inter-cranial pressure). With a severely restricted peripheral vision (a.k.a. “tunnel vision”), he is legally blind. Medical professionals have informed the family that due to the dystrophy, his vision will continually decline. So in preparation, Caleb is learning Braille and how to use a red-tipped, white cane for orientation and mobility.

Caleb loves to perform. And so in school he is a member of the Mercer High School Speech Team performing in Prose and Poetry, and Mercer High School 5M Marching Band playing the Euphonium (baritone horn).

Caleb has enjoyed playing the Euphonium in "Tuba Christmas" events in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and Youngstown, Niles, and Akron Ohio.

Caleb has had lessons with Phil Duncan and Mike Caldwell. He also receives harmonica lessons at home from his father, George Miklas, who is a former member of Jerry Murad's HARMONICATS.

The Miklas family has a rich heritage of musicians spanning several generations. Caleb's grandfather, Stephen Miklas (born March 26, 1920 in Youngstown, OH, USA), was known to perform on the harmonica before General George S. Patton and General Dwight D. Eisenhower while serving in the U.S. Army (WWII; 1942-1945). His great-grandfather, George Miklas (born April 17, 1872 in Krayne Zupa Nitransky, Czechoslovakia), was known to play the pump organ. By 1847, C.A. SEYDEL SÖHNE was manufacturing harmonicas in Klingenthal Germany, approxmiately 700 km from George Miklas' hometown. It is possible then, that his great-grandfather may have even played the harmonica too.