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

ARKAI is a Grammy Award-winning, genre-defying electroacoustic string duo based in New York City. The duo comprises violinist Jonathan Miron and cellist Philip Sheegog.

Both are Juilliard graduates who first met not in a classroom but in an impromptu jam session at a 2018 school event. Over the next hour, two musicians who had grown up on different coasts and at times on different continents discovered a shared language. That spontaneous session became the foundation of a seven-year creative partnership in which the two handle everything: writing, producing, mixing, and every visual element of their work.

Their sound defies easy categorization: cinematic, electrifying, and deeply human. “It wasn’t in some genre, it was our genre,” Jonathan reflects. Their name comes from the Greek word for “leaders,” chosen to capture the energy of venturing into uncharted waters. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, the Grammy Museum, the Emmy Awards, and a Lakers playoff game, and released a virtual TED Talk that reached 30,000 viewers. In 2025, they won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for Brightside, which includes a candlelit rendition of “The Sound of Silence” with over 115,000 views. Grammy.com called their live performance “a gale force of humanity.” They have collaborated with photographer David LaChapelle, Cirque du Soleil, and Oscar-winning pianist Jon Batiste, and performed extensively alongside Lindsey Stirling. During the pandemic, their initiative SupportNYC raised $80,000 for small businesses and nonprofits nationwide.