A Conversation with Simon Shaheen
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works Podcast
Length: 27:23
Simon Shaheen is one of the great Arab musicians of his generation. Taking his background in both arab and western music as his starting point, Shaheen dazzles listeners with his extraordinary blending of the two. A Palestinian, born in a small village in Galileean village, Shaheen studied violin in Haifa and music and arab literature Tel Aviv before emigrating to the United States. Here, he completed a masters in Music performance and another in music education. His goal: to bring arab music to western ears, to move it from the cabaret to the concert hall. A creative force who moves effortlessly from traditional Arabic sounds to jazz and Western classical styles, Simon Shaheen brings them together with melodic ingenuity, and unparalleled musicality. Earning international recognition as a virtuoso on both the violin and the oud
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
Simon Shaheen is one of the great Arab musicians of his generation. Taking his background in both arab and western music as his starting point, Shaheen dazzles listeners with his extraordinary blending of the two. A Palestinian, born in a small village in Galileean village, Shaheen studied violin in Haifa and music and arab literature Tel Aviv before emigrating to the United States. Here, he completed a masters in Music performance and another in music education. His goal: to bring arab music to western ears, to move it from the cabaret to the concert hall. A creative force who moves effortlessly from traditional Arabic sounds to jazz and Western classical styles, Simon Shaheen brings them together with melodic ingenuity, and unparalleled musicality. Earning international recognition as a virtuoso on both the violin and the oud
Transcript
Transcript of conversation with Simon Shaheen
Music up and hot….
Simon Shaheen: I was born in Tarshiha. This is the name of the village. My father was a musician, composer, educator, oud player. I was surrounded by a family of musicians. The most important thing is that I grew up in this kind of environment. It influenced me a great deal. I was exposed at early childhood to the best of traditional Arab music, and my father, with his diversity and versatility in music, of course exposed me to music from different parts of the world, including Western classical and Indian music, Persian, and many others. So I grew up in this environment of multifaceted musical scene. At the age of three, I started to play on the oud and at the age of five and a half, I joined the Conservatory for Classical music in the city of Haifa, where I learned on the violin. I grew up with this duality of playing o...
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Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dance Mediterranea | Simon Shaheen and Qantara | Blue Flame . | 00:00 | ||
| Olive Harvest | Simon Shaheen and Qantara | Blue Flame . | 00:00 | ||
| Waving Sands | Simon Shaheen and Qantara | Blue Flame . | 00:00 |
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