Simon Shaheen Comes to Roulette This Month

Simon Shaheen is coming to Roulette this month. The performance is on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 8:00pm.

Shaheen is one of the world's greatest players of the ‘ud (short-necked fretted lute that is the ancestor of the European lute) and one of the most influential Arab musicians and composers of his generation. Internationally renowned, he has enthralled audiences with his mastery of both the ‘ud and violin and his brilliant improvisations. In this program, Simon Shaheen (‘ud and violin) will be joined by Nano Raies (vocal), Najib Shaheen (‘ud), Tareq Rantisi (percussion), Rami Abuolaya (nay – flute), and George Crotty (cello). Their program will feature original and traditional Arab instrumental and vocal music, including the sama`i (instrumental form popular in Arab and Turkish music), the tahmila (traditional Arab dance music form) and irtijal (the art of improvisation); a medley of Palestinian folk songs; Lebanese vocal selections from the 70s; and the traditional muwashshah (complex vocal form based on classical Arabic poems that originated in Andalusia).

Simon Shaheen, born in the village of Tarshiha in the Galilee into a Palestinian family, was steeped in music in early childhood. He began to learn to play the 'ud at the age of five with his father Hikmat Shaheen, a famous teacher of Arab music, and a year later began his studies on the violin at the Conservatory for Western Classical Music in Haifa, from which he graduated in 1978. He moved to New York in 1980 to complete his graduate studies in performance at the Manhattan School of Music, and later in performance and music education at Columbia University. He went on to form the Near Eastern Music Ensemble, which performs the highest standard of traditional Arab music, and Qantara, which blends Arab music with jazz and Western classical music.

His concert credits include some of the world's most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Cairo's Opera House, Theatre de la Ville in Beirut, and Belgium's Le Palais des Arts. He has written music and scores for theater and films, including The Sheltering Sky, and Malcolm X, and released numerous recordings, including The Music of Mohamed Abdel Wahab and the Grammy-nominated Blue Flame. In 1994, he received the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship, this nation's highest honor in the traditional arts. In 1997, he founded the Arabic Music Retreat at Mount Holyoke College, an annual event which brings together the finest educators, performers, and students of Arab music for intensive study and performance. Shaheen tours internationally with his groups, as a solo artist, and as a lecturer throughout the academic world promoting awareness of Arab music. He is currently teaching at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Nano Raies, from Homs, Syria, is a singer, composer, musician and actress. She studied music at Berklee College of Music after fleeing the war in Syria, becoming the first Syrian woman to attend and graduate from Berklee. She has appeared with the New York Arabic Orchestra at Lincoln Center, as well as with Simon Shaheen, among others.

Najib Shaheen began performing `ud with his father Hikmat Shaheen near Haifa at the age of 12. After moving to the US in 1967, he played `ud with legendary vocalist Hanan and toured with her in Latin America. Najib has performed hundreds of concerts with his brother Simon Shaheen as a core member of the Near Eastern Music Ensemble and Qantara. In addition to performing, he is a master ‘ud maker and restorer.

Tareq Rantisi, a native of Jerusalem, is a Grammy-nominated world percussionist, composer, and educator. Initially self-taught, he went on to earn a bachelor's degree as well as a master's degree in Global Jazz from Berklee College of Music. He has expertise in Middle Eastern, jazz and other world styles and has performed with leading musicians around the world, including Simon Shaheen, Paul Winter, Glen Velez, Jack DeJohnette, Bassam Saba, Sonia Mbarek, and Rima Khcheich. As an educator, he has given master classes, workshops, and private lessons throughout the world.

Rami Abuolaya is a Boston-based musician born and raised in Palestine, where he studied Arabic music at Al Kamandjati Music School, and later became an instructor in nay and flute. He has shared the stage with world-class musicians and participated in renowned music festivals such as Eid Al Musica Festival and The Humanity Festival of Paris. He has appeared in concert with Simon Shaheen and toured France, Germany, Belgium and Jordan.

George Crotty has forged his own musical vocabulary, pushing the boundaries of the cello. Following his graduation from the Berklee College of Music, he immersed himself in New York's jazz and world music scenes. He has played with Brooklyn Raga Massive, the Detroit-based National Arab Orchestra, Bob Ezrin, Adam Rudolph, Simon Shaheen, and Paquito D'Rivera, performed as a soloist and bandleader in North America and Europe at numerous festivals, and toured North America with the 10-time Tony-winning Broadway musical The Band's Visit.

Photo Credit: ©Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos