MAI
CHOMA
MUSICIAN,
VIOLINIST
VIOLINIST
Mai is a classically trained violinist and composer with a fascination for Balkan and Klezmer fusion and ethno jazz. She has performed in all major amphitheaters in Israel and in numerous venues in Spain, Germany, Holland, Hungary, and France, both as a classical soloist, concertmaster, ensemble and orchestra member, and also as a contemporary performer, band leader, and member.
She received her masters degree in contemporary performance and production from Berklee Valencia Campus in 2020, and her artist diploma in classical performance from the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía Madrid in 2019
She previously graduated her master’s degree from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel, in collaboration with the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar in 2017, and graduated a combined bachelor’s degree in Earth Science and Music from the Hebrew University in 2015.
She has collaborated with renowned artists such as Shlomo Artzi, Izhar Ashdot, Ronit Shahar, Omri Mor, Magda Giannikou, Elad Levi, and Eyal Thalmudi. She has participated in bands such as the Balkan-Klezmer ensemble Kbetch!, the Irish band Black Velvet, the Arabic-fusion ensemble Habibti Ensemble, and the East-West Jerusalem Orchestra.
As a classical violinist she played with the Jerusalem Symphonic Orchestra, the Musethica scholarship-winning residence quartet, the Jerusalem Street Orchestra, and in varios chamber music and orchestra projects around Israel and Europe.
Currently she is the band leader, composer, and manager of the Ethno-fusion band SHAKATA, a member of the Latin- Mediterranean band Reina Riff, and a member of the Barcelona Rock Strings quintet and quartet.
She is the winner of the Klezmer Award in the International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam, the Berklee Valencia Showcase, and numerous prizes and scholarships from Musethica, Ima Foundation, America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Israel Conservatory of Music Tel-Aviv, Berklee School of Music and Escuela Superior de Música Reina-Sofía.
SHAKATA is all about bringing the carnival to town and getting the party started!
This truly international band, with members hailing from four continents, will take you on a dance-filled journey from the Balkan peninsula to the beaches of Brazil and everywhere in between.
The band formed in 2020 at Berklee College of Music in Valencia and immediately became known for their fun and funky repertoire and high energy live performances. Absorbing from the cultural and musical origins of each member (Israel, Brazil, Sicily, United States), the ensemble takes influences from Balkan and Arabic music and fuses them with Brazilian and Spanish rhythms and a hint of American Blues to complete the signature SHAKATA sound.
It's an unorthodox and flavourful groove that keeps the party rocking!
Check out their new debut EP Turn the Night On, available on Bandcamp and on all streaming platforms.
