Voices from Exile : Thurs. Sept 29, 7-9 pm Free

Concert and conversation with Iraqi musician Rahim AlHaj

Jeanne d'Arc Auditorium in Whitby Hall , College of St. Catheine
Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN
www.stkate.edu


Rahim AlHaj was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the ud at age nine. His
talent was immediately recognized and he quickly began studying under legendary
oud masters. Rahim studied under the renowned Munir Bashir,
considered by
many to be the greatest oud player ever, and Salim Abdul Kareem, at the
Institute of
Music in Baghdad, Iraq.  Mr. AlHaj won various awards at the Conservatory and
graduated in 1990 with a diploma in composition.  He also holds a degree in
Arabic
Literature from Mustunsaria University in Baghdad. In 1990, Rahim immigrated to
Syria and Jordan, forced out of his homeland due to his political activism
against the
Saddam Hussein regime. In 2000, he arrived to United States as a political
refugee
and has lived in Albuquerque ever since.

Rahim'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. Rahim is recording four
new
CD's in 2005, including a recording of traditional Iraqi ud music for
Smithsonian
Folkways, new compositions with a string quartet and a live duo recording with
sitar
player Umjad Ali Khan.