Wisam Gibran

Born in Nazareth like pianist Saleem Ashkar, Wisam Gibran began his musical training with violin lessons and later began playing piano and mainly the oriental lute oud, on which the 48-year-old Israeli has made an international name for himself today. Two CD productions document his success: Exile (2003) and Chromatic Silence (2007). Furthermore, Gibran studied composition, both in Moscow and in Berlin with Paul Heinz Dittrich and Hanspeter Kyburz. In 1999 he participated in the first West-Eastern Divan Project in Weimar, led by Daniel Barenboim, Edward Said and Yo-Yo Ma. In 2004 Gibran won the prestigious Composition Prize of the Prime Minister of Israel. His works include vocal music, three concerti, the symphony Gilgamesh and numerous electro-acoustic compositions. In his works, Gibran, a Palestinian living in Israel, tries to combine oriental traditions and experimental music, including both his Israeli and Palestinian roots.