Steve Barakatt
Steve Barakatt CQ (born May 17, 1973)[1] is a Lebanese-Canadian composer, music producer, pianist, singer and creative director. He was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2020[2] and he is a former National Ambassador of UNICEF Canada.[3]
Early years
When he was four, he began piano lessons. Over the next 10 years he studied classical music, and then switched to jazz. Barakatt enjoyed many challenging musical experiences from an early age, including that of guest soloist with l'
Barakatt has been invited to appear on various recordings and live performances with many artists and ensembles from the Alexandrov Ensemble (Red Army Choir)[4] to the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. A true passionate artist, Barakatt enjoys meeting musicians and exploring all styles of music.
Recording artist
Barakatt recorded his first solo album, Double Joie, when he was 14. It was released in Canada on November 11, 1987 and less than a week later the album was in the top 20 best-selling albums.
He has composed and produced numerous instrumental albums: Audacity, Escape, Steve Barakatt LIVE, Quebec, Eternity, A Love Affair, All About Us, Someday, Somewhere and Néoréalité. These recordings reached the charts in many countries around the world and his music is broadcast on various radio stations. A number of his compositions are also used as themes for popular TV shows.
In August 2020, he signed an agreement with the record label Universal Music MENA[5] for the global distribution of his future recordings.
Composer and producer
As composer/producer, Barakatt has collaborated with many artists from all over the world.[6] In 1997, Barakatt produced the young Canadian singer, Natasha St-Pier's album. His composition "Sans le Savoir" hit the top 5 on the radio charts, and the video of the song became number one on Musique Plus, Quebec's MTV.
In 1997, he wrote many other songs including "C'est une Promesse" for the Canadian singer Johanne Blouin, and "En la arena" for Argentina's male singer Guillermo Saldana.
In Hong Kong, Barakatt has been asked to compose for a number of artists. In 1995, he composed "Mou Tian" which was performed by the Asian stars Kelly Chen, Joyce Yau, Daniel Chan and Ray Chan. In 1996 he composed a duet for Leon Lai and Alan Tam, Song of Stars, which featured them singing together for the first time on record. Barakatt also wrote "Ni Shi Shui" for Leon Lai's solo album, Feel Leon, released the same year.
In Japan, Barakatt's song "Kaze To Kino Uta-Quebec 1608" was performed by the Japanese singer Sincere. The popular singer
Barakatt also composed the score for the TV series Urban Myth Chillers starring
In 2010, Barakatt was invited to perform the song "You Are Not Alone" in duet with Korean R&B singer Wheesung on Michael Jackson's compilation album Winter Night.[7]
Ad Vitam Aeternam
In 2003, Barakatt was inspired to create a music work of a major scale, by composing and conceiving a symphonic work based on the sixteen stages of human experience. After more than 30 months creating this work, on September 30, 2005, the world premiere of "Ad Vitam Aeternam" was presented at the Grand Théâtre de Québec accompanied by Orchestre Symphonique de Québec.
On June 16, 2006 the European premiere was presented at Yaroslavl, Russia with the "Yaroslavl Symphony Orchestra" under the baton of Murad Annamamedov.
On September 7, 2007, "Ad Vitam Aeternam" was performed by Barakatt for the first time in Asia with the Ditto Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Gilles Ouellet.
This production was an official event for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, Canada. Several concerts were presented on June 17–18–19, 2008, at the Grand Theatre of Quebec. In 2010, "Ad Vitam Aeternam" was performed during the festivities celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of the city of Yaroslavl, Russia a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On November 19, 2014, "Ad Vitam Aeternam" was performed by Barakatt at the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory with the Yaroslavl Academic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Murad Annamamedov. "Ad Vitam Aeternam" commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ambassadors & Officials representing more than 30 countries attended the event in Moscow.[8]
Here I Am (vocal project)
In 2007, Barakatt released his first vocal album Here I Am. Several songs have been recorded at Sir
Lullaby, The UNICEF Anthem
In 2009, Barakatt composed the
International Anthem of the Royal Golf Clubs
In 2017, Barakatt was commissioned by
Usage by Korail
Upon the launching of
The Official Anthem of Chateau Frontenac
On April 13, 2018, Le Château Frontenac became the first heritage building in the world to have its own official anthem. Barakatt composed the anthem and performed the world premiere in the Chateau Frontenac's Grand Ballroom with l'Orchestre Symphonique de Québec under the baton of Maestro Fabien Gabel.[11]
Le Phare
Canadian firm Groupe Dallaire announced on November 15, 2016 the appointment of Barakatt as Creative Director of Le Phare real estate project in charge of the entertainment activities. Barakatt will supervise the conception of the facilities, the production of new entertainment content as well as the establishment of new partnerships for the creation of a world-class experience.
Awards and honours
- Winner of the Sillery music festival (1984 and 1986)
- 3 Nominations by the ADISQ (Between 1987 and 2005)
- Youngest recipient of the Order of Merit of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (1988)
- Nominated for the "Prix Rayonnement hors Québec" – Grands Québécois (1996)
- Certificate of acknowledgement from the United Nations (2004)
- Recipient of the ARISTA Bank of Montreal Prize "Young International Business Leader in Quebec" (2005)
- Young Personality of the Year (National and International) Youth Chamber of Commerce of Quebec (2005)
- Recipient of the Pierre-Garon prize (Artist of the year, Quebec City) (2006)
- Honorary Governor of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award in recognition of his contribution for the program in Quebec (2006)
- SOCAN's Hagood Hardy Award-Composer of the Year-Instrumental (2010)[12]
- Plaque of Appreciation offered by the Prime Minister of the Republic of South Korea for the support and promotion of the City of Saemangeum (2017)[13]
- Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Exceptional Merit (2019)[14]
- Knight of the National Order of Quebec (2021)
- Great International Friend of the City of Jeonju, Republic of Korea (2023)
Discography
Work as recording artist
- Double-Joie (1987)
- Audace/Audacity (1994)
- Escape (1996)
- Steve Barakatt Live (1997)
- Quebec (1998)
- Eternity (1999)
- A Love Affair (2000)
- Rainbow Bridge – The Collection (2000)
- All About Us (2001)
- The Best of Steve Barakatt (2004)
- The Best Inspirations (2005)
- Here I Am (2007)
- Someday, Somewhere (2011)
- "Dear Charlotte" – Single (2015)
- "Dear Charlotte" (Piano Solo) – Single (2015)
- "Moonlight Dream" – Single (2015)
- "Symphony of Greatest Hits" – Single (2015)
- "I Can't Live Without You" – Single (2016)
- "The Official Anthem of Chateau Frontenac" (2018)
- "One More Heart, One More Dream – The Official Anthem of Saemangeum" (2018)
- "Sursum Corda in Beirut" - Single (2020)
- "Autumn in Quebec, The Landscape" - Single (2020)
- "Néoréalité" - Album (2021)
- "Motherland" - Single (2022)
- "Give Me Some Love" - Single (2024)
Work as a composer/producer/pianist
- Emergence for Natasha St-Pier (1995)
- Mou Tian for Kelly Chen, Daniel Chan, Joyce Yau, Ray Chan (1995)
- En La Aerena for Guillermo Saldana (1995)
- The Song of Stars for Leon Lai & Alan Tam (1996)
- Ni Shi Shui for Leon Lai(1996)
- C'est un promesse for Johanne Blouin (1997)
- Kaze To Kino Uta for Sincere (1998)
- Shitteru Tsumori for Yoko Oginome(1999)
- Watashi Dake Ite for Noriko Sakai (2000)
- Here We Are for Audrey De Montigny (2006)
- Love performed by Audrey de Montigny for Amnesty International's Make Some Noise (2007)
- Rainbow Bridge performed by Sunmin (2010)
- You Are Not Alone performed in duet with Wheesung (2010)
- I'm Sorry + My Funny Valentine performed with John Park (2011)
- Imagine with EXO(2016)
- Sound of Your Heart with Lee Dong-woo, NCT(2016)
- Devenir - The Official Anthem of Ordre national du Québec (2021)
UNICEF Ambassador
On March 9, 2007, Barakatt and his wife, Russian-born Olympic gymnast Elena Grosheva, were both appointed UNICEF Canada Ambassadors. They were the first couple to be given that honor.[15]
IMAGINE for UNICEF
Barakatt is among the international artists who participated in the IMAGINE for UNICEF project in recording a new version of John Lennon's "Imagine". The music video has been filmed in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in November 2015.[16]
Ensembles and artists who performed Barakatt's compositions
- L'Orchestre symphonique de Québec(Canada)
- L'Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal (Canada)
- The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic)
- The Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra (Canada)
- The Delta Youth Orchestra (Canada)
- The Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra (Canada)
- The Ottawa Youth Orchestra (Canada)
- The Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra (Canada)
- The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra (Australia)
- The Lahti Symphony Orchestra (Finland)
- L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France(France)
- La Maitrise de Radio France (France)
- The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (China)
- The choir of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
- Royal Canadian Air Force Band (Canada)
- Korean Pops Orchestra (South Korea)
- The Edward Said National Youth Conservatory (Palestinian Occupied Territories)
- Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Poland)
- Auckland Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand)
- The Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Turkey)
- Nana Mouskouri
- Richard O'Neill
- Helmut Lotti
- Angelique Kidjo
- Maxim Vengerov
- Andrew Wan (OSM)
- Agnes Chan
- Miri Ben-Ari
- The Alexandrov Red Army Choir
- Natasha St-Pier
- Joo-Hyun Kim
- Myung-whun Chung
- Yoav Talmi
- Yannick Nézet-Séguin
- Yaroslavl Academic Symphony Orchestra
- Kelly Chen
- Daniel Chan
- Joyce Yau
- John Park
- Ray Chan
- Guillermo Saldana
- Children's Choir DOMISOLKA
- Leon Lai
- Alan Tam
- Johanne Blouin
- Sincere
- Yoko Oginome
- Noriko Sakai
- Audrey De Montigny
- SunMin
- Yiruma
- Yuhki Kuramoto
References
- ^ "Lebanese-Canadian Composer is Producing Celebratory Anthem for Lebanon". The961. March 18, 2020.
- Quebec Government. May 11, 2021.
- ^ "A musical call to action: 'Lullaby: The UNICEF Anthem'". November 19, 2009.
- ^ "Alexandrov Russian Army Song and Dance Ensemble loss". Al Jazeera. December 26, 2016.
- ^ @UMGmena (August 25, 2020). "Welcoming award-winning composer and pianist @SteveBarakatt…" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Canadian Songwriter in Tune With Stars Everywhere". China Daily. May 20, 2012.
- ^ "Wheesung Featured On Michael Jackson Compilation CD". KBS World. December 21, 2010.
- ^ Leclerc, Yves (November 20, 2014). "Steve Barakatt réalise un rêve". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ "Le golf a son hymne". Le Journal de Québec. September 8, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ "International Anthem of the Royal Golf Clubs – Hymne International des Clubs de Golf Royaux". September 13, 2017. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2019 – via YouTube.
- Journal de Québec. April 14, 2018.
- ^ "Steve Barakatt wins the Hagood Hardy Award". June 18, 2018.
- ^ "World-renowned composer & pianist Steve Barakatt releases official anthem of the future hub of Asia: The City of Saemangeum".
- ^ "Steve Barakatt awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Exceptional Merit" (Press release).
- ^ "Steve Barakatt to Bring New Symphony as UNICEF Anthem". The Korea Times. October 27, 2009.
- ^ "IMAGINE by Steve Barakatt". November 22, 2015. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2019 – via YouTube.