Israeli born Miri Ben-Ari stands out with her prodigious musical gifts, an astounding ability to make violin music fun, exciting, and unique. With her distinctive style, she has revolutionized the bridge between classical, hip hop and dance music, creating a new genre and style in the realm of what is possible for what a violinist can be and do. A vibrant persona and demeanor to top it off, her music videos have an urban edge that push the boundaries of what “cool” can be for a violinist to create.
Venerated as a Grammy award-winning artist, she has collaborated with top artists such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Wyclef Jean and Armin Van Buuren, making a name for her as the “hip hop violinist” and creating over 50 hit tracks. A natural talent, she started playing violin at the age of 5 and was presented with a violin by Isaac Stern. As she continued to develop her skills, she took a liking to jazz music, and eventually branched out to the genre of hip hop, EDM and lately African music. Additionally, she has established herself as a humanitarian, founding “Gedenk”, which is a Holocaust awareness organization that promotes tolerance to the youth.
“Be open to learning new things, and once you find your voice believe in yourself”
A top talent, she has performed for Obama, was featured in a Pepsi commercial and performed at many sport events including the NBA All-Star game. For aspiring musicians, she is a huge inspiration for what a successful career in music can potentially be when you have a creative way of fusing genres to create an image for yourself. We sit down with Miri to find out her secrets to success and how she became so world-renowned.
1. When did you decide you wanted to be a violinist? Did you have any reservations about pursuing a career in music?
2. Do you think as a musician it’s important to have a foundation in classical music?

3. Tell me about your current projects?
4. How did you find the fusion between classical and hip hop and now African music?
5. Do you think it’s important to market yourself as a “brand” and how do you think artists can do this?

6. How did you acquire initial notoriety and what was the process of collaborating with celebrities like?
7. Tell me about your work as a humanitarian and why it’s important to you.
8. What programs do you use to compose your music?
9. What’s some advice you can give to aspiring musicians to find their “voice”?

Miri Ben-Ari