Mika Karni – Kol Dodi

Mika Karni, a trained classical violinist, could read music notation before she knew her ABC (Alef Bet). Her youth was filled with all of the local and European extra-curricular classical music enrichment programs, as well as WITZO Art School in Haifa and the Berkeley affiliated RIMON School of Music in Tel Aviv. Upon graduation Mika played violin and sang with Israeli major star Shlomo Artzi, being quickly noticed and signed by major Israeli record label HELICON, shaking the industry by showcasing a unique voice, never before achieved locally. That first album garnered ACUM's prize for writer of the year and paved her way to the ears and hearts of a large part of the country's musical scene, as well as getting rave media reviews, a steady pattern which holds true all the way to her present 10^th album. Mika's incomparable vocal stamp keeps her on producers and artist's lists for co-productions.

In 1998 she married local musician Mickey Shaviv and together produced her second album, "A True Story", and "Another World", with the No. 1 national hit "All right by me ". By 2002 Mika wrote, composed, arranged and produced her "Minute to Minute" album with a large classical orchestra and has been helming her projects by herself ever since. The year 2003 saw Mika and her husband attaining complete artistic independence, weaning herself from the industry traps and starting their own "Free style productions", with a another national success, " Beacon ", a major radio hit for her. That year the couple moved to the upper Galilee's little moshav "Amirim" and set up a concert hall in their large attic, where for the next ten years they performed hundreds of concerts, with hugely diverse crowds beating a path to their doorstep. 2005 was the year of "Pure and simple", with the theme song being the 8^th most played radio song of the year. 2007 was dedicated to saving the forests hit and burnt during the war in Lebanon (2006). An album, "The Promise", was written and recorded, donating a portion of sales to replanting northern burnt forests.

Next in 2010 was the "Family Album", which features herself, husband and kids. Besides her disciplined personal artistic endeavors, Mika also shares her knowledge and academic gifts by teaching young developing musicians, writers and singers. Her current project is her Jewish Gospel Choirs. Her ensemble "Hashmiini" includes a phenomenal 64 female voices singing Biblical psalms set to original music. "Kol Dodi" is her latest album and live show honoring "Shir Hashirim", with a cast of Israeli artists and musicians of many backgrounds, all set to Mika's spiritual compositions.