Mika Cornelius, or Mikatte Music, is a composer and sound designer based in Auckland, New Zealand. They completed their BMus Honours in 2021 at the University of Auckland, specialising in Composition and Sonic Arts. Mika has created sound design and music for video games, theatre, short films and podcasts. They are a sound designer for Dredge by Black Salt Games, an NZ-made fishing/horror game which became the number-2 top-seller on Steam within 24 hours of release and was nominated for Best Audio at the Develop:Star Awards in Brighton. In 2022, they released the soundtrack, a fusion of classical and electronic music, for visual novel Her Jentle Hi-ness. In 2021, their soundtrack was premiered in the Auckland Fringe Festival for Coded: a one-woman play exploring female sexuality. Mika was involved as a composer and audio editor for Don’t Forget Your Towel, an actual-play TTRPG podcast, for which they created evocative theme songs and ambience for a wide range of TTRPGs.
Mika is also active in the contemporary classical composition space. Earlier this year, they premiered two compositions for string quartet, The Sounding Sea and ‘more like whirlwinds than waters’ as part of Tiny Fest in Christchurch. In 2020, Mika co-created Irisado with three other composers. The piece was recorded in New Zealand and Chile, and an excerpt was performed at New Zealand Parliament in 2022. Mika has had works performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, NZSO, Auckland Chamber Choir, the Douglas Lilburn Prize Concert and Llewellyn Jones Piano Prize Concert.