Town Hall in association with the Arab Center of Washington
presents
MARCEL KHALIFE AND AL MAYADINE ENSEMBLE
TOWN HALL
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 AT 8 PM
Come hear the world-famed Lebanese singer and Oud player
Marcel Khalife with his ensemble of four, including his son
Bachar on piano. Marcel Khalife will play a new suite
inspired by the poetry of contemporary Palestinian poet
Mahmoud Darwish, along with favorites from his repertoire of
music that blends the sounds of East and West.
If you plan to attend, please purchase your tickets directly
from the Arab Center of Washington in order to ensure our
continued sponsorship of events such as this one.
Tickets are $24 for Arab Center of Washington members and $26
for non-members.
Please send a request for tickets along with a check to the
following address:
Arab Center of WashingtonAttn: Ziyad Zaitoun
12525 28th Ave NE, 2nd Floor
Seattle, Washington 98125
Tickets will be mailed back to the address you indicate or you
can ask that your tickets be held at the door.
–
Press Release by Town Hall
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susie Tennant: 206/652-4255 ext.0
susie@townhallseattle.org
TOWN HALL PRESENTS
MARCEL KHALIFE AND AL MAYADINE ENSEMBLE
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 AT 8 PM
Marcel Khalifé, one of the Arab world’s most influential
performers and composers, brings his ensemble of four,
including his son Bachar on piano to Town Hall Seattle on
October 7 at 8 pm. They will perform “Tagasim,” a new suite
inspired by the words of fabled Palestinian poet Mahmoud
Darwish, along with favorites from his repertoire blending
the sounds of East and West. This event is co-presented with
the Arab Center of Washington. Advance tickets are $26/$24
Town Hall members, seniors & students at
http://www.brownpapertickets.com or 800/838-3006.
$28/26 at the door.
Acknowledged as one of the most popular and profound performing
artists in the Arab speaking world, Khalifé’s work is firmly
rooted in the classical and folk traditions of the Middle East
blended with Western influences, such as the use of piano. A
champion of freedom of expression and human rights, Khalifé
was recognized by the United Nations as an “Artist for Peace”
in 2005.
Khalifé was born in 1950 in Amchit, Lebanon. He studied the oud
(the Arabic lute) first with family and friends, and then at
the Beirut National conservatory where he was a faculty member
from 1970-75. During that same period, he toured the Middle
East, North Africa, Europe, and the United States giving solo
performances.
In 1972, he created a musical group in his native village with
the goal of reviving its musical heritage, and that of Arabic
vocal chorales. In 1976, he founded the Al Mayadine Ensemble.
Al Mayadine’s notoriety reached beyond Lebanon into the rest
of the Arab world, where his music and songs became
extraordinarily popular. Accompanied by his musical ensemble,
Khalifé began performing not only in Arab countries, but in
Europe, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia,
and Japan.
Since 1974, Khalifé has also been composing music for dance,
which has given rise to a new genre, the popular “Eastern”
ballet inspiring such groups as Caracalla, Sarab Ensemble,
Rimah, and Popular Art Ensemble. He also composes soundtracks
for film, documentary and fiction produced by Maroun Baghdadi
and Oussama Mouhamad, among others.
Khalifé’s compositions have been performed by Kiev Symphony
Orchestra, Academy of Boulogne Billancourt Orchestra, San
Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of the City of Tunis,
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Italian Philharmonic Orchestra,
Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, and the “Absolute Ensemble.”
Khalifé is a composer who is deeply attached to the texts on
which he relies. In his association with great contemporary
Arab poets, particularly Darwish, he seeks to renew the
character of Arabic song, to break its stereotypes, and to
advance the culture of the society that surrounds it. Most
recently, he has eschewed songs for a purely musical
representation of these poetic texts such as the recently
composed “Taqasim.”
Darwish is considered to be the most important contemporary
Arab poet. He has received several awards including the 1969
Lotus Prize by the Union of Afro-Asian Writers, the Lenin
Peace Prize in 1983, and France’s Knighthood of Arts and
Belles Lettres in 1997. Many of his heroic poems have become
popular as songs. In 1999, Khalifé was brought before a Beirut
court on charges of blasphemy made by a Sunni religious figure.
The charges related to his song entitled ‘I am Yusuf, my
father’, which was based on Darwish’s poem and cited a verse
from the Qur’an. The case has yet to be resolved.
Marcel Khalifé and the Al Mayadine Ensemble appear at Town Hall
Seattle as part of its 2007-8 Global Rhythms series made
possible through the support of the National Endowment for the
Arts, The Boeing Company, 4 Culture, and the Town Hall
Community Fund. Media sponsors include Colors Northwest
Magazine and KBCS 91.3 FM. Other performances in the series
include Musafir: Music of Rajasthan Saturday, October 27;
Accorid-o-rama: a Squeezebox Spectacular Sunday, January 20;
Zing Go The Strings, Thursday, February 21; Japan in America
Saturday, March 22; and Hossein Omoumi: Music and Song of
Persia Saturday, April 19.
Who: Marcel Khalife and Al Mayadine Ensemble
What: A Global Rhythms Presentation
Where: Great Hall, enter on Eighth Avenue
When: Sunday, October 7 at 8 pm
How Much: Advance tickets are $26/$24 Town Hall members,
seniors & students at www.brownpapertickets.com or 800/838-3006.
$28/26 at the door.
####
*********************************************************
Susie Tennant
Email: susie@townhallseattle.org
Phone: 206/652-4255 ext. 0
Cell: 206/427-3556
Fax: 206/652-5858
Town Hall Seattle
1119 8th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Web Site & Event Calendar: www.townhallseattle.org
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