Malek Jandali

Malek Jandali
مالك جندلي
Background information
Birth name Malek Jandali
Born (1972-12-25) December 25, 1972
Waldbröl, West Germany
Origin Homs, Syria
Genres Classical
Jazz
Classical Arabic
Film music
Occupation(s) composer, pianist
Instruments piano
Years active 1981–present
Labels Soul b Music
Website malekjandali.com
Notable instruments
Steinway & Sons

Malek Jandali (Arabic: مالك جندلي‎, Mālik Jandalī) (born 1972) is a Syrian-American[1][2] pianist and composer and founder of the nonprofit organization Pianos for Peace.[3] He was born in Germany and raised in Homs, Syria. He immigrated to the United States and studied music in North Carolina. Since then, he has performed with orchestras across the world and composed a number of modern classical works. His music ranges from chamber works to large symphonic compositions integrating Middle-Eastern and Western influences.[4]

Life

He began his musical career as a classical pianist. He studied at the Arab Institute of Music in Damascus with Vladimir Zaritsky and Victor Bunin of the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory.[5][6] Jandali won first place in the Syrian National Young Artists Competition in 1988, and in 1995 received a scholarship to attend North Carolina School of the Arts under Eric Larsen.[6] He graduated from Queens University, where he studied under Paul Nitsch and received the Outstanding Musical Performer Award of the school.[6] While in the Charlotte area, he was an organist and choir director for St. James Catholic Church in Concord, North Carolina.[7] He studied composition and orchestration with Eddie Horst, Harry Bulow, Lawrence Dillon and Richard Prior.[6] In 2004 he received his master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte[5] and in 2015 the Carnegie Corporation of New York named him a "Pride of America" honoree for his notable contributions to society.[8][9] Jandali currently lives in New York City.[10]

Music

As performer

Video showing a performance at Carnegie Hall and an interview with the Voice of America.

Jandali has performed in London, Cairo, Damascus, Istanbul, Paris and Atlanta, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,[11] the Stude Hall of the Shepherd School of Music[12] at Rice University in Houston, the Wiener Konzerthaus[13] in Vienna, the Kaufman Center[1] and Carnegie Hall in New York City, National Auditorium in Madrid,[14] Cadogan Hall, The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto,[15] and the Madinat Theater in Dubai.[16]

He has performed with orchestras including the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra,[1] the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,[17] Ludwig Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra,[18] The Stockholm Solister[19] and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra at Damascus Opera House.[20]

In 2013 he launched his ongoing world tour “The Voice of the Free Syrian Children” from the Berman Center in Detroit to raise awareness and much needed humanitarian aid for the suffering Syrian children.[21] The tour reached Europe and the Middle East with benefit concerts along with lectures and academic workshops.[22][23]

As composer

Jandali has composed works ranging from solo instrumental pieces to chamber and large ensemble and orchestral works.[24] He has a special interest in Arab music and combines the maqamat or modes with western harmony in his piano and orchestral compositions.[6]

He released his first album of compositions for piano and orchestra, Echoes from Ugarit, in June 2009. The album was briefly in the international music charts of the United Arab Emirates.[25] The title track is based on a hymn to Nikkal, one of the Hurrian songs inscribed on cuneiform clay tablets discovered in Ugarit, Syria, and thought to date from 1400 BC and thus to be the oldest notated music in the world.[25][12]

In April 2011 Jandali wrote Watani Ana (I am my Homeland). In June his scheduled appearance at the annual convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) was cancelled, reportedly because he planned to perform Watani Ana.[26] The initial statement issued by the ADC did not make clear the reason for the cancellation,[27] and attracted criticism from other organizations including the Arab-American Institute.[26] The ADC issued a further statement in April 2012, in which it said that it had reached "an amicable resolution" with Jandali.[28]

Malek Jandali composer

In July 2011 Jandali performed Watani Ana at a protest in Lafayette Park.[29] Shortly afterwards, his parents, Dr. Mamoun Jandali and Lina Droubi, were severely beaten and their home in Homs was ransacked. Jandali blamed Syrian security forces for the attack, and told reporters that as his mother was beaten, she was told "we're going to teach you how to raise your son."[30] Photographs published on Facebook showed evidence that the couple had been brutally beaten.[31] In September two armed attackers broke into the house and again ransacked it; Jandali's parents were not there as they had fled Syria after the previous attack.[31]

In early 2012 Jandali released his album Emessa (Homs), which he dedicated to "the Syrian people and their noble quest for freedom - especially the people of Homs".[32] The album includes his Freedom Qashoush Symphony, named for Ibrahim Qashoush, who wrote a song popular with Syrian protesters and who was killed and had his vocal cords torn out.[32]

Jandali's Syrian Symphony was released in late 2014 and premiered at Carnegie Hall in January 2015.[33] The album includes three major works, "Syrian Symphony" presented in four movements recorded with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, "Variations for Piano and Orchestra", based on the ancient Syrian theme Lamma Bada Yatathana, which dates back more than 1,000 years,[34] and "Phoenix in Exile", recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.[35]

In 2015 his latest album SoHo was released, which tells the story of his journey from Syria to SoHo in New York City and contains compositions that are inspired by and named after the works of great poets Rita Dove, Rumi, Ibn Arabi and Gabriela Mistral among others.[36] The album features his chamber works for piano, oud and cello performed by the Malek Jandali Trio.[36]

Awards


Discography

Albums

EPs and singles

References

  1. 1 2 3 Raya Jalabi (25 October 2013). Malek Jandali: "I thought: what can I do? How can I help? All I have is music". The Guardian. Archived 26 October 2013.
  2. ↑ CU Boulder. . CU Boulder. September 2014.
  3. ↑ Wendy Parker. "Atlanta Composer From Syria Promotes ‘Pianos For Peace’".
  4. ↑ https://indychoir.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/A-New-East-West-Polyphony-Symphony-Magazine-Summer-2015.pdf
  5. 1 2 Molouk Y. Ba-Isa (27 May 2008). Digital 'Echos From Ugarit' to Be Heard All Over the World. Arab News. Accessed August 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 M. Kay Siblani (9 May 2008). From Ugarit to the world. The Arab American News. Accessed August 2013.
  7. ↑ Feeback, Beth (September 4, 2011). "Syrian violence touches former Concord musician". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  8. ↑ "Malek Jandali".
  9. ↑ "Queens alum, composer named ‘Great Immigrant’". charlotteobserver.
  10. ↑ "About - Malek Jandali".
  11. ↑ [s.n.] (14 November 2010). Malek Jandali, pianist in concert: Echoes from Ugarit The Oldest Music in the World. The Kennedy Center. Accessed August 2013.
  12. 1 2 [s.n.] (8 October 2010). The Front Row - Composer Malek Jandali. KUHF Houston Public Radio. Accessed August 2013.
  13. ↑ Mariam Polding (13 June 2012). Truth, freedom and classical music. Arab News. Archived 13 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "Casa Árabe - Recital a cargo de Malek Jandali".
  15. ↑ "February Performances at The Royal Conservatory".
  16. ↑ "Malek Jandali wows UAE audiences - Art For All". Art For All.
  17. ↑ BMG Foundation presents Amwaj with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: 19 June 2012. Cadogan Hall. Archived 9 May 2012.
  18. ↑ "Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra at Carnegie Hall with Malek Jandali".
  19. ↑ "Malek Jandali".
  20. ↑ "Malek Jandali Live in Damascus Opera House!". Intidar Blog.
  21. ↑ http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/art-and-culture/2013/10/16/Syrian-musician-aims-to-help-children-in-need-.html
  22. ↑ "Malek Jandali: "The Voice of the Free Syrian Children" Speaks in New York". The Huffington Post.
  23. ↑ "The voice of the free Syrian children - by Malek Jandali - Olavsfestdagene 2016". Olavsfestdagene 2016.
  24. ↑ Biography. Malek Jandali (self-published). Archived 25 August 2008.
  25. 1 2 Stephen Starr (8 April 2011). Syrian tablet fragment shatters long-held beliefs about origin of music. The National (Dubai). Accessed August 2013.
  26. 1 2 [AAI] (10 June 2011). AAI Statement on the ADC Controversy Over Malek Jandali's Performance. Arab American Institute. Accessed August 2013.
  27. ↑ [adc] (9 June 2011). Statement Regarding Malek Jandali and the ADC Convention. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Accessed August 2013.
  28. ↑ [s.n.] (12 April 2012). ADC Issues Statement on Malek Jandal. MECN. Accessed August 2013.
  29. ↑ Shomial Ahmad (12 August 2011). Syrian American musician will continue to perform, despite threats. PBA. Archived 2 October 2012.
  30. ↑ Tom Watkins (30 July 2011). Syrian musician blames security forces for his parents' beating. CNN. Accessed August 2013.
  31. 1 2 Joe Sterling (27 September 2011). Musician: Syrian security raids family home. CNN. Accessed August 2013.
  32. 1 2 [s.n.] (4 May 2012). Syrian pianist dedicates work 'for freedom' in Homs. BBC News. Accessed August 2013.
  33. ↑ "Composer Malek Jandali releases his “Syrian Symphony” at Carnegie Hall".
  34. ↑ "ART BEAT: Ludwig Symphony to feature world premieres, international soloists during concert". www.gwinnettdailypost.com.
  35. ↑ "The Syrian Revolution and the Arts of Resistance - Rutgers University - Newark".
  36. 1 2 "From Syria to SoHo: The Message of the Malek Jandali Trio". The Huffington Post.
  37. ↑ [Ahram Online] (3 Nov 2011). Malek Jandali honoured with Freedom of Expression Award. Ahram Online. Accessed August 2013.
  38. ↑ [s.n.] (9 November 2013). Past UAP president Yolanda Reyes wins Gusi Peace Prize Int'l. The Philippine Star. Archived 11 February 2013.
  39. ↑ Global Music Awards (14 December 2014). Music Awards: Winners - December 2014. Global Music Awards. Accessed December 2014.
  40. ↑ "Humanitarian Award".
  41. ↑ "Ya Allah (Oh God) - Single". iTunes.

External links

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