Hill Auditorium
Legacy
Marcel and Rami Khalifé
Individual event tickets go on sale Aug 1.
The legendary Lebanese composer, singer, and oud player Marcel Khalifé returns to Ann Arbor for the first time in 20 years with his son, virtuoso pianist Rami Khalifé.
Known as the “Bob Dylan” of the Arab World, Marcel Khalifé is deeply attached to the text of great contemporary Arab poets; he is an innovator in Arab music who draws upon traditional forms and blends Western elements to create a sound that has captivated audiences around the world. Together, the two perform a selection of Marcel’s revered classics and new arrangements alongside Rami’s original compositions, telling of a father and son who found solace in music in a time of exile.
“The deep evocative sounds of Marcel’s oud, sometimes mixing Western folk chords with Arabic yearning melodies, were complemented by Rami’s pianistic skills, which combined his classical training at The Juilliard School in New York with a Keith Jarrett-like approach to jazz and improvisation.” (Daily Telegraph, Australia)
Presented in partnership with the Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs
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Legacy
Marcel and Rami Khalifé
Hill Auditorium
Season ticket packages are on sale now.
Individual event tickets go on sale Aug 1.
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Or call the ticket office at 734-764-2538
Marcel Khalife was born on June 10, 1950 in Amchit, Lebanon. He studied the oud (the Arabic lute) at the Beirut National Conservatory of Music and graduated in 1971, and, ever since, has been injecting a new life into the oud.
From 1972 to 1975, Marcel Khalife taught at the Beirut National Conservatory of Music, public Universities, and other local private music institutions. During that same period, he toured the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and the United States giving solo performances on the oud.
Oud playing was traditionally constrained by the strict techniques that governed its playing. Highly talented and skillful musicians such as Marcel Khalife were, however, able to free the instrument from those constraints and thus greatly expand its possibilities.
In 1972, Marcel Khalife created a musical group in his native village, Amchit, with the goal of reviving its musical heritage and the Arabic chorale. The first performances took place in Lebanon. 1976 saw the birth of Marcel Khalife’s Al Mayadine Ensemble. Enriched by the previous ensemble’s musical experiences, Al Mayadine’s notoriety went well beyond Lebanon. Accompanied by his musical ensemble, Marcel Khalife began a lifelong far-reaching musical journey, performing in Arab countries, Europe, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Japan.
Marcel Khalife’s creativity, innovations, educational and humanitarian concerns, and contributions to the promotion of arts and Culture in the Arab world have earned him awards in the Arab World and internationally. Upon his receipt of the National Palestine Medal for Arts and Culture in 2001, Khalife contributed the financial part of the Award to the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Palestine. The Conservatory has since established in his name an annual music competition under the title of The Marcel Khalife National Music Competition grants young gifted musicians financial support for their continued music education.
Rami Khalifé was born on September 25, 1981 to musician Marcel Khalifé and vocalist Yolla Khalifé amid the rough and tumble of civil war in Beirut, Lebanon. While best known for his re-envisioning of the classics, Rami Khalife, who graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School, was featured as a soloist alongside some of the world’s most prized orchestras including the Globalis Orchestra, Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, and Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Rami Khalifé has extensively toured in the U.S, South America, Asia, Canada, Europe, and Australia, in such venues as the Kennedy Center, the Sydney Opera House, the Doha Opera House (Qatar), Place Des Arts (Montreal, Canada), Dar el Opera (Damascus, Syria), Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), Salle Pleyel (Paris, France) and UNESCO Palace (Beirut, Lebanon).
Rami Khalifé’s work is as eclectic as it is bold, ranging from improvised concerts and recording a Prokofiev concerto to performing with Marcel Khalifé. He also composed contemporary works for orchestra and produced soundtracks for films and documentaries, only to switch it all up with his classic electro group AUFGANG.
His body of work includes two piano concertos, a requiem, a cello concerto, and several orchestral pieces including “Tunnel to the Moon”, all of which, he premiered with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra to write ‘’Stories.” In 2016, Rami Khalife simultaneously released 2 new albums ’Turbulences’ with AUFGANG and Stories with Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.
Heralded as a “musician of extreme caliber and pure expression…a welcome experimental detour from the norm of today and in the relatively conformist world of classical composition…he is positively brand new” by the Daily Star, it’s no wonder that Rami Khalifé has emerged as one of the most exciting young composers of the 21st Century.
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