Hi All!! My name is Mika Hary and I was born in Tivon in 1986. I was actually born as Mirit Hary, but Mika is a kind of a nickname that I got from my mom and spread around somehow. I liked it so I adopted it. now on my ID it says: Mirit Mika Hary. anyway as you probably noticed I love music. I love to sing! I also play the piano (not on recordings on this page, since I have the wonderful Shai Maestro to play with....), and also write songs, or compose them to lyrics I get from others or read on poetry books.
And now I'll try to tell you my bio....
I went to Carmel Zvulun high school in Kibutz yagur (and there we founded the Jazz organization of the north... :-) together with Dima Gorelik, Tom Lew, Orel Oshrat, Yoni Lifshitz... heard of? if not, you will...). there, I went to the music program and finished it cum laude (!!!) with 14 points of music. I also conducted independent research in the fields of music and linguistics for which I received the highest grade. I even won a national competition for projects of this kind and got a special scholarship.
In 2002 I went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston and participated in the 5 week program as a jazz vocalist.
In 2003 I went to a special program of Berklee's at Umbria Jazz festival in Italy (which was so much fun!!). There, I was fortunate to participate in master classes of greats like Bobby McFerrin and Elvin Jones. I was even chosen by the voice teacher to sing infront of Bobby as part of the masterclass. (if you don't believe me I have pictures...). At the end of this course we (some of the singers at the course) sang background vocals for Bobby at his concert as part of the festival.
In the same year I won, along with 2 of my good friends and collaborators, a national competition for vocal ensembles (I also arranged one song for the competition). We took the first place and recieved a scholarship.
In 2004, my senior year in High School, I started performing at jazz clubs around Israel. with my teacher, mentor, and friend Dr. Shai Cohen (saxophonint and composer). My first big gig was at the Martef 10, where I still perform today.
In 2005 I moved to Tel Aviv (woo- hoo!!!!) and felt at home... (I love Tel Aviv!). Then, I was also drafted into the army. I was accepted as an "outstanding musician" and a solo singer for the IDF Orchestra. As part of my army service I sang at some of the most important national ceremonies, in front of 3 (!!!) chiefs of staff, Israeli Prime minister, the president, and heads of different countries around the world.
During my army service, I was fortunate to continue working and developing my musical personality. During my service for the army orchestra, I also met wonderful people and musicians that I still collaborate with and am planning to continue to do so (like Jonathan Greenstein, Ronen Shmueli, Noam Weizenberg and others).
I started performing also in the Tel Aviv area (and even Jerusalem) with different bands and ensembles.
In 2006 I led a tribute project to Joni Mitchell (with band members such as: Dima Gorelik, Shai Maestro, Noam David, Aviv Cohen, Ishai Mordehai, Yonatan Levi...). with this project I performed at many jazz clubs, including a show at Shuni (Binyamina), at a world music festival that was broadcasted on TV (channel 2).
That project led to my special connection with the pianist (and friend) Shai Maestro and we formed a Duet. We composed music together, arranged songs that we loved, and recorded, what you can hear here on this page. We have performed several shows as a duet and still have plans for the future...Other projects include a solo show, that came out at the respected Levontin 7 club. this show has an intimate piano singing format, and I also play piano in it. I have special guests, that include sax player Jonathan Greenstein, the singer-songwriter Marina Maximillian Blumin (good friend and collaborator), and the classical musicians Yael Kareth on piano and Linor Katz on Cello. I had special arrangments written for me esspecially for this evening, by the amazing Eli Degibri, a great influence on my life and my music. :-)
another interesting project is a quartet I formed along with my good friend and a wonderful soul and musician- Ronen Shmueli. the quartet includes also Omer schonberger on Guitar and Ben Aylon on percussion. the music is very unique and it includes both originals and arrangments to varied material, from Stevie Wonder to Shasha Argov to Joni Mitchell... I love it...In 2007 I participated in the Israeli version of "American Idol", callled in Hebrew "a star is born" (free translation- kochav nolad", the 5th season).
I had so much fun and learned a lot, and even though I didn't reach the final stages, I am greatful for that experience.
And now, I am in New York City, studying at the famous "New School for Jazz and Contemporary music" and living my dream...
I am planning to try and keep performing in Israel, while on vacation from school. I already have plans for December.... but in the meantime I'm happy and excited to explore this city and try to learn from this experience how to be the best musician and human being I could possibly be.
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