Ali Paris – Sunday, November 11 at 4 pm
A Musical Journey from Egypt to Spain
Ali Paris, vocals and qanun
Gabriel Navia, guitar
Briana DiMara, violin
Josh Mellinger, percussion
Kerensa DeMars, Flamenco dancer
Nicole Maria, Arabic dancer
Halalaya Palestinian folk song
Parfum de Gitane Anouar Brahem
Raqsat Husseini Turkish folk song with Flamenco elements
Ahwak Abdel Halim Hafez
Hawa Shemali Arab folk tune
Allah Allah Yababa
and several selections by Paco De Lucia
For this special concert, Ali Paris will take the audience on a musical journey from Egypt to Spain. Through dance and music, Paris and guests will present music from traditional Middle Eastern music to Flamenco, with storytelling and background on the music, dance, and instruments featured.
Ali Paris captivates audiences worldwide with his unique fusion of Middle Eastern and Western music styles highlighted by both technical virtuosity and emotional expression. He accompanies his singing with his instrument, the Qanun, a rare Middle-Eastern 76-string zither that dates back to the 14th century. Ali’s music education began at the age of 5 in his native countries of Morocco and Palestine, studying Arabic traditional music with master Simon Shaheen. He quickly became known as a child prodigy, performing great concert halls by age 9 and touring internationally by the age of 11. Since then he has received multiple international awards and has expanded his musical career exponentially, relocating to the United States to earn his degree at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music.
He has collaborated with a long list of world-renowned artists such as Alicia Keys, Quincy Jones, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, David Broza, Paco De Lucia and Bobby McFerrin. His solo performances have reached diverse audiences from the Newport and Istanbul Jazz Festivals to the White House in Washington DC and the Royal Palace in Jordan to play for both President Abbas of Palestine and Queen Rania of Jordan.
He has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Michigan Philharmonic and is featured in the renowned Grammy-winning Spanish documentary Entre2aguas. Ali has also collaborated with numerous world-renowned artists to benefit the work of Doctors Without Borders, Save a Child’s Heart and Keep A Child Alive including a duet song with Alejandro Sanz that has funded numerous humanitarian projects in Africa & the Middle East.