Palestinian-American composer and musician
Simon Shaheen
Shaheen in 1994
Born 1955
Tarshiha ,
Upper Galilee , Israel Occupation(s) Musician, composer Instrument(s)
Oud , violin
Musical artist
Simon Shaheen (
Arabic : سيمون شاهين ,
Hebrew : סימון שאהין ; born
Tarshiha ,
Upper Galilee , Israel, 1955) is a Palestinian-American
oud and
violin player and
composer .
[1]
[2]
[3]
At the age of 2, Shaheen moved with his family to
Haifa , but spent most of the weekends in
Tarshiha , an Arab village in
Galilee . The Shaheen family is known for its musicality with music instructor and father Hikmat, oud-playing and instrument-making brother Najib, violinist and oud playing William, and singing sisters Laura and Rosette.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Music career
Shaheen began playing the oud at 5, and the violin shortly thereafter.
[7] He attended
Tel Aviv University , earning degrees in Arabic literature and music performance.
[8] He later pursued further studies at
Hebrew University of Jerusalem . In 1980 he emigrated to the United States to study music at the
Manhattan School of Music and
Columbia University , eventually becoming a U.S. citizen.
[9]
[10]
He founded the Near Eastern Music Ensemble and organizes arts festivals and retreats.
[9]
[11] Shaheen also heads the Arabic Music Retreat, held annually at Mt. Holyoke College's campus in Massachusetts which brings together a large faculty instructing Arabic music for a week and concludes with a concert.
Shaheen, a
Catholic
Arab , lives in New York City, where he leads an Arabic ensemble called Qantara which he formed.
[12]
In 1994 he received a
National Heritage Fellowship from the
National Endowment for the Arts .
[13]
[10]
In addition to his work in traditional and classical Arabic music, Shaheen has participated in many cross-cultural musical projects, including performing with producer
Bill Laswell ,
Colombian singer
Soraya ,
Henry Threadgill ,
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt , and with
Jewish
klezmer musicians
The Klezmatics .
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
Select discography
1990 – Music of Waheeb , Mango/Island/
PolyGram
1990 – The Music of Mohamed Abdel Wahab , Axiom/Island/PolyGram
1992 – Turath (Heritage) , CMP
1993 – Taqasim: Art of Improvisation in Arabic Music
1996 – Saltanah (with
V. M. Bhatt ),
Water Lily Acoustics
2001 – Blue Flame , Ark 21/Universal
References
^
"SIMON SHAHEEN & QANTARA "Blue ... – The Washington Post | HighBeam Research – FREE trial" . Highbeam.com. June 22, 2001. Archived from
the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^ Mitter, Siddhartha (October 10, 2008).
"Simon Shaheen is an ambassador for traditional Arabic music – The Boston Globe" . Boston.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^ Koehler, Robert (September 10, 1993).
"Humble Means, Rich Sounds * Masters from far-flung origins will play their simple instruments in North Hollywood. Los Angeles Festival: "HOME, PLACE and MEMORY", A Citywide Arts Fest" . Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^ Rule, Sheila (November 7, 1994).
"Ancient Oud Gets A Hearing In Brooklyn" . Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^ Brinner, Benjamin (2009).
Playing Across a Divide: Israeli-Palestinian Musical Encounters . Oxford University Press. p. 58.
ISBN
978-0-19-972113-9 . Retrieved August 4, 2013 .
^ Nina Roberts (March 31, 2009).
"He Plays Arab Music, Makes and Fixes Ouds" . Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 14, 2011 .
^
"Simon Shaheen & Qantara "Blue" . Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. June 22, 2001. Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^ Rule, Sheila (October 29, 1994).
"A Man and His Oud. How's That Again? – New York Times" .
The New York Times . Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^
a
b Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001).
All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music . Backbeat Books/All Media Guide. p.
924 .
ISBN
978-0-87930-627-4 . Retrieved August 4, 2013 .
^
a
b Benson, Kathleen; Kayal, Philip M. (2002).
A Community of Many Worlds: Arab Americans in New York City . Syracuse University Press. p.
1 .
ISBN
978-0-8156-0739-7 . Retrieved August 4, 2013 .
^ Kayyali, Randa A. (January 2006).
The Arab Americans . Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 124.
ISBN
978-0-313-33219-7 . Retrieved August 4, 2013 .
^
"Google" . April 4, 1999.
^ Rule, Sheila (November 7, 1994).
"Ancient Oud Gets A Hearing In Brooklyn" . Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^ Pareles, Jon (February 13, 1993).
"Review/Music; Klezmer Meets Arabic Tradition – New York Times" .
The New York Times . Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^
"New York Magazine" . Newyorkmetro.com . New York Media, LLC: 23. March 11, 1996.
ISSN
0028-7369 . Retrieved August 4, 2013 .
^ Wald, Elijah (2007).
Global Minstrels: Voices of World Music . Routledge. p. 230.
ISBN
978-0-415-97930-6 . Retrieved August 4, 2013 .
^ Chuy Varela, Special to The Chronicle (May 16, 2006).
"APPRECIATION / Soraya lost battle with cancer, but raised awareness" . Sfgate.com. Retrieved February 3, 2011 .
^ Broughton, Simon; Ellingham, Mark; Trillo, Richard (2000).
World Music: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific . Rough Guides. p. 110.
ISBN
978-1-85828-636-5 . Retrieved August 4, 2013 .
External links
International National Artists