Rahim AlHaj

Rahim AlHaj
رحيم الحاج
Rahim AlHaj رحيم الحاج
Background information
Birth name	Rahim AlHaj
Born	1968; Baghdad, Iraq
Occupation(s)	Musician; Composer;
Instrument(s)	Oud, Violin
Years active	1988-Present
Website	www.rahimalhaj.com

Rahim AlHaj (

Arabic: رحيم الحاج, born c. 1968) is an Iraqi American oud

musician and composer.

Early life

AlHaj was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud (an Arabic lute) at age nine. Early on, it was evident that he had a remarkable talent for playing the oud.

Education

AlHaj studied under the renowned

Mustansiriya University

in Baghdad.

Emigration

In 1991, after the

U.S. citizen on August 16, 2008.^[1]

AlHaj has performed all over the world, on tour with Munir Bashir, his teacher, as well as solo and with his string quartet project, including numerous concerts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, and France and hundreds of concerts in the United States.

AlHaj has released several recordings. The Second Baghdad, released in 2002, and Iraqi Music in a Time of War, released in 2003, were both produced by VoxLox record label. His East meets West CD entitled Friendship (Rahim AlHaj, Oud & Sadaqa Quartet) was released in December 2005 by Fast Horse Recordings. His When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq, produced by

Grammy Award.^[2] An oud and sarod CD with Amjad Ali Khan

will be released later in the year.

AlHaj's music delicately combines traditional Iraqi

maqams

with contemporary styling and influence. His compositions are about the experience of exile from his homeland and of new beginnings in his adopted country. He is one of the true oud masters from Iraq. AlHaj says that "my music invites the listener to discover the true spirit of the musician." His compositions are about loss, hope, freedom, and longing. His songs establish new concepts without altering the foundation of the traditional Iraqi School of oud based in Baghdad.

AlHaj wrote and performed the music for the award-winning short documentary, The Rest of My Life: Stories of Trauma Survivors.[3]

Awards

2015: Recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts^[4]
2010: Grammy nomination for Best Traditional World Music Album
2009: United States Artists Fellow Award in Music^[5]
2008: Grammy nomination for Best Traditional World Music Album
2003: Winner of the Bravo Award for Excellence in Music
2001: Award from Veterans for Peace for work towards peace
1988: Music Institute Award for Composition

References

^ Kelly, Jon (2008-09-20). "Talking America: Oud awakening". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
^ "Album Details on Folkways".
^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: The Rest of My Life: Stories of Trauma Survivors. YouTube.
^ "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2015". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
^ "USA Fellows". www.unitedstatesartists.org. United States Artists. Retrieved 16 October 2017.

External links

Official website
Kennedy Center performance on June 6, 2006
Rahim Alhaj "featured artist profile" on Smithsonian Folkways

Interviews

Rahim AlHaj interview from Weekend America radio program, May 15, 2008

[bbc-1] Kelly, Jon (2008-09-20). "Talking America: Oud awakening". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-09-23.

[2] "Album Details on Folkways".

[3] Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: The Rest of My Life: Stories of Trauma Survivors. YouTube.

[4] "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 2015". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.

[5] "USA Fellows". www.unitedstatesartists.org. United States Artists. Retrieved 16 October 2017.

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[2]

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[5]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States
Artists	Grammy Awards MusicBrainz
Other	IdRef