Internationally acclaimed Arab music performer, composer, and instructor Simon Shaheen inspired student musicians with his energy, passion, and nuanced command of Arab music and singing. During his Philadelphia visit on February 7 and 8, he led workshops with the Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble and Al-Bustan’s Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble (GAMP High School Jazz Band had to cancel their workshop due to weather conditions).
See photo slideshow and video clips of Shaheen’s visit below.
And see what the Philadelphia Inquirer had to say in an article by Tirdad Derakshani in front page of the local news section.
On Monday evening, Shaheen and four music directors juried auditions by young musicians competing to perform in concert with Shaheen. We are pleased to announce the following eight winners of the All-Star Music Ensemble which will perform two of Shaheen’s compositions on April 25. Congratulations!
Strings:
Alisa Cole, age 18, violin, Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble
Vena Johnson, age 23, violin, Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble
Sara Gabalawi, age 18, cello, Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble
Jerrell Jackson, age 21, bass, Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble
Percussion:
Jared Daley, age 13, Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble
Mazin Blaik, age 14, Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble
Brass:
Yesseh Furaha-Ali, age 13, saxophone, Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble
Ray Long, age 14, trombone, Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble
We are grateful to all the dedicated young musicians who participated in the workshops and auditions, and to music directors Marc Johnson, Vincent Rutlandt, Hanna Khoury and Hafez El Ali Kotain for their time and commitment to making this partnership a success. And of course most importantly, to Mr. Shaheen for allowing this program to happen!
And Special Thanks to the Kimmel Center and U-Penn’s Greenfield Intercultural Center for hosting the workshops and auditions.
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This program is funded largely through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Workshop with Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble (8:35)
Workshop with Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble (5:40)
Interview clips of students auditioning for All-Star Music Ensemble (4:00)
Photos below taken by Hazami Sayed and Musa Hamideh.
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3 Comments
My name is Henry Tirfe. I play the tenor saxophone and you can see me on the 2nd and the 6th photo of the slide show. Simon Shaheen is really a great musician. He is also very different. His middle-eastern music is very different of the modern types of any genre of music that is out there because of the different rhythm, sounds, his instrumentation, and types of scales that he uses in his songs. I am glad to meet him. He is a great guy.
My name is Ray Long. I am the trombone player that can be seen in the photos of the Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble. I just recently was accepted into the Middle-Eastern Music All Star Band. I am extremely grateful to Mr. Shaheen and everyone else that has offered their time to present opportunities to young musicians like myself. Thank you.
A big thank you to Mr. Shaheen for coming out to the Kimmel Center for the KCYJE workshop. My two sons attended the workshop and they came home acting as if they struck gold. My one son was given music for violin and the other guitar. It has opened up a whole new world of music to our entire family; purely, magical, music.