MICHA BITON

Micha Biton is one of the early pioneers of the renowned music scene in Sderot, Israel. As a small child he performed in major festivals and competitions representing his city and was considered a musical child prodigy.

His father, Amram Biton, recognized his suburb musical talent when Micha was five years old, and he encouraged him to take the stage from that tender age. Micha sang songs in Spanish, Moroccan, and French and captivated the audience. He has been singing ever since, in synagogues as a youth cantor, on stages all over the country and throughout the world.

Micha grew up in an extraordinary musical neighborhood, where creativity was abound and children sang and played instruments, formed informal youth ensembles and dreamed of the bands that they would create that would make them famous in the future. At the age of nine, Micha already knew in his heart that music would be his life and his livelihood.

But Micha’s life took a dramatic turn when his father Amram died suddenly at the age of forty-one, leaving his widow—Perla— to care for 10 young children alone. The oldest was 14 years old and the youngest was only 11 months old. Micha was nine when his father passed away, an event which profoundly impacted his outlook, his writing, and his personal direction.

After his father’s death, a decision was made to move Micha to a foster family in Jerusalem—a decision that would forever change Micha’s life. Micha became the foster child of the author Galila (and Avi) Ron-Feder, and eventually would become the subject of her most beloved youth novel “El Atzmi.” Over the past forty years, over one million children have had the pleasure of reading this moving story about finding hope through despair, of seeking light through darkness.

But Micha is much more than the character in a story. His dramatic childhood, the impact of his strong Moroccan ethnic roots coupled with the influence of Galila and Avi’s cultural Ashkenazic influences led to the formation of a musician who passionately calls upon both sides of his upbringing to create songs of hope and joyfulness.

Founder of the popular band Tanara in the 1990s, Micha was one of the first Israeli musicians to experiment with “Ethnic Rock,” combining western rock music with Moroccan inspired scales and instrumentation. Following Tanara, Micha released five studio solo albums of original music, one album of prayers and psalms (ancient and original texts) with his American partner Lisa Tzur, and a live compilation album/DVD from all of his original works recorded in Tel Aviv in March 2013.  Micha performs across Israel and abroad, bringing his story and his songs of inspiration and joy to audiences throughout the world