ARKAI Writes an Original Song From the Stories of Small Business Owners

ARKAI is a Grammy Award-winning electroacoustic violin and cello duo based in New York City, comprising violinist Jonathan Miron and cellist Philip Sheegog. Both are graduates of The Juilliard School, where they met as graduate students and formed the duo shortly after.

Silver Lining commissioned this work from ARKAI as part of the small.artists Mini Doc series, supported by Wells Fargo.

Their music fuses classical virtuosity with the energy of a rock band, the spontaneity of a jazz combo, and the structural elegance of a string quartet. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera, the US Air Force Academy, and the 68th Grammy Awards. In 2025, they won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for their second album, Brightside, which they recorded and produced in Sheegog’s New York City apartment. Their community work runs deep: during the pandemic, their initiative SupportNYC raised over $80,000 for small businesses, orchestras, and arts organizations. They are recipients of the 2021 Robert Sherman Music Education and Community Outreach Award from WQXR, The Juilliard School, and the Harold W. McGraw Family Foundation.

Silver Lining commissioned this work from ARKAI as part of the small.artists series, supported by Spotify Advertising.