Birth: 1/1/1945 Death:NULL/NULL/NULL
Born in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1945; following the 1967 occupation, created a new genre of Palestinian music; participated in Al-Ballalin theater group in the 1970s; his first production, Al-Ard, was published in 1976 in Jerusalem and re-edited in France in 1977; was placed under several administrative arrests in 1976 and spent nine years in involuntary exile; studied piano and composition in Göttingen, Germany, and music ethnology at the Free University of Berlin; his Palestinian political songs are inspired from the Old City of Jerusalem (elements of classical Arabic Oud, Sufi chants and rhythms, Byzantine song, European organ music, Palestinian folklore) and set to music lyrics from major Palestinian poets; produced many records, incl. Without Passport reflecting the experiences of exile (recorded live in Brussels in 1979); following the efforts of Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel was allowed back into the OPT in 1985; produced his cassette Al-Quds in 1987; during the first Intifada he recorded two cassettes/CDs on Palestinian children, known as Les Enfants de la Palestine; established the Music Dept. at the An-Nuzha Al-Hakawati in 1986 (now Palestinian National Theater), which in spring 1991 became independent as the Jerusalem Center for Arabic Music; in 1993 produced Fawanis, a CD of chansons dedicated to Palestine in which he is accompanied by an ensemble of Swiss and Palestinian musicians; composed music for many movies and plays; participated in many concerts both locally and internationally; was awarded Al-Rima Festival Award, Amman, Jordan in 2004; works as composer and musician (oud player and singer with his own ensemble) in Jerusalem, where he heads the Jerusalem Center for Arabic Music.
