Oud maestro Simon Shaheen and special guests will present a musical program that brings to life the Arab music of Al-Andalus and blends it with the art of flamenco. The show will take place on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at Baruch Performing Arts Center’s Mason Hall, 17 Lexington Avenue at 23rd Street, New York City.
Simon Shaheen, one of the most influential artists of his generation, is an acclaimed musician, composer, and educator. Born in the village of Tarshiha in the Galilee into a Palestinian family, Shaheen was immersed in music in early childhood. He began to learn to play the ‘ud (oud) at the age of five with his father Hikmat Shaheen, a famous teacher of Arab music and a master ‘ud player.
In 1980, two years after graduating from the Academy of Music in Jerusalem, Simon Shaheen moved to New York to complete his graduate studies in performance at the Manhattan School of Music, and later in music education and musicology at Columbia University. He went on to form two groups: the Near Eastern Music Ensemble that performs the highest standard of traditional Arab music, and Qantara, which brings to life Shaheen’s vision for the unbridled fusion of Arab, jazz, Western classical, and Latin American music.
As a composer of chamber music, Simon Shaheen has written numerous works including “Zafir” for the Imani Winds and “The Call” for a chamber string orchestra. He has written music and scores for theater and films, including The Sheltering Sky, and Malcolm X, and released seven recordings, including The Music of Mohamed Abdel Wahab and the Grammy-nominated Blue Flame.
In 1994, he received the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship, the United States’ highest honor in the traditional arts. In 1997, he founded the Arabic Music Retreat at Mount Holyoke College, an annual event that brings together the finest educators, performers, and students of Arab music for intensive study and performance.
In addition to his two groups, Shaheen tours as a solo artist internationally and as a lecturer throughout the academic world promoting awareness of Arab music. He is currently teaching at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
