Mika Cornelius : Associate Artist
Photo: Dezine by Mauro
Mika Cornelius is a chamber music composer and sound designer for
video games. They completed their BMus Honours in 2021 at the
University of Auckland, specialising in Composition and Sonic
Arts. Mika was awarded the 2024/25 SOUNZ Tarling Trust
Commission, for which they composed Universal Veil, a
fungi-inspired work for the New Zealand String Quartet. They've
previously collaborated with Jade String Quartet, with Mika's
work The Sounding Sea featuring on their album Tapestry. Now
residing in Melbourne, Mika is currently a freelance sound
designer for a variety of video game projects, ranging from
visual novels to puzzle platformer games.
Mika enjoys collaborating with composers and artists in other
mediums. In 2020, Mika co-created Irisado, a Latin
American-inspired composition, with three other composers. The
piece was arranged for Orquesta Andina, a traditional Latin
American ensemble, by Latin American composer Dr Félix Cárdenas;
and an excerpt was performed at New Zealand Parliament to
celebrate 50 years of Chilean and New Zealand relations. In their
work for video games, Mika has enjoyed collaborating with
designers, artists and engineers to craft unique, immersive
soundscapes that feel lived in and a part of the game world. For
Dredge, an NZ-made fishing/horror video game by Black Salt Games,
Mika demonstrated versatility in creating cosy soundscapes for
each distinct biome and designing sound effects for eerie
creatures, which spearheaded Dredge into the cosy horror genre.
Dredge was nominated for Best Audio at the Develop:Star Awards in
the United Kingdom and at the Pavs Awards in New Zealand.
Biography provided by the composer — current to July 2026
