THE LIVING COMPOSERS PROJECT  

Waleed Howrani

(b. 1948, New York, New York).

Lebanese composer, born in the USA and now resident in the USA, of mostly piano works that have been performed in Europe, the Middle East and North America; he is also active as a pianist.

Mr. Howrani studied piano privately with Sonia Vertabedian from 1952–55 and Zvart Sarkisian from 1955–63 in Beirut. He studied harmony and theory with Salvador Arnita and solfège with Tawfiq Sukkar at the Conservatoire Libanais National Supérieur de Musique in Beirut from 1960–62 and piano with Oleg Ivanov at the Central Music School in Moscow from 1963–66, where he graduated with high honours. He then studied piano with Emil Gilels and Yakov Zak at the P. I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow from 1966–73 and there earned a postgraduate degree in piano performance and teaching. He later had private studies with William Albright in Michigan from 1983–90 and attended seminars with Leslie Bassett and William Bolcom in the 1980s.

Among his honours as a pianist are a certificate of honour in the competition Tchaikovsky in Moscow (1966), laureate in the Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd in Brussels (1968), the Prize of Said Akl (1968), the Lebanese Medal of Merit (1969), First Prize in the competition of WDEQ-FM in Pittsburgh (1975), and the proclamation of Waleed Howrani Day on 13 April from the city of San Diego (1986). Among his honours as a composer are a finalist in the competition of Nissim/ASCAP (1990, for Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Strings and Percussion) and First Prize in the competition for adult composers Youse of the National Federation of Music Clubs (2002, for Introduction and Fire Dance). He has also received the True Spirit Award from the 500 Club for Lebanon in Los Angeles (1991), the Artistic Excellence Award from Wayne County, Michigan (1992), the Khalil Gibran Fine Arts Scholar Award (twice, 1992–93), the Lebanese Medal of Cedar (1999), and an award from the Beirut City Lions Club (2000).

As a pianist, he often plays his own music and contemporary music alongside standard répertoire. He has performed in Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the USA.

CONTACT INFORMATION

E-mail address: waleedhowrani@gmail.com

COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS

ORCHESTRAL:

Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Strings and Percussion, 1990

CHAMBER MUSIC:

Exotica, alto saxophone, piano, 1982

Life Cycle, flute, piano, 1984

PIANO:

Hikaya RaheebaAlarming Story, 1986

Animal Rags, 1988

Bayoogie Woogie, 1993

Lebanese Rhapsody, 1995

Alma Mater, 1998

Introduction and Fire Dance, 2001

DISCOGRAPHY (as composer)

Animal Rags. Waleed Howrani, piano (self-released, 1993)

Lebanese Rhapsody. Waleed Howrani, piano (self-released, 1996)

Alma Mater. Waleed Howrani, piano (self-released, 1999)