Concert Calendar
2024 – 2025
September 20, 2024 Faculty recital by U of A Little Rock pianist Dr. Linda Holzer, featuring music by Schumann (Trio in g Minor), Philip Glass, James Scott, Jon Batiste, Kareem Roustom, and Gideon Brewer. Details here.
Palaver Strings Fall 2024 Tour
September 26, 2024 Palaver Strings to give the world-premiere of Ḥawwāsh for string orchestra in Portland, Maine. The program features music by Bartok, Maya French, and Kinan Azmeh. Details here.
September 27, 2024 – Palaver Strings at 7pm (Meeting House Arts, 40 Main St. Freeport, ME). Details here.
September 28, 2024 Palaver Strings at 7pm (Pickman Hall, Longy, Cambridge, MA) Details here.
September 29, 2024 – Palaver Strings perform 4pm (Brattleboro Music Center, Brattleboro, VT). Details here.
September 27, 2024 Little Chamber Music in partnership with Allegra Chamber Orchestra presents Natanam: an exploration of instrumental dance forms from around the world in Vancouver, BC. With compositions by Dinuk Wijernatne, Caroline Shaw, Kareem Roustom, and Parmela Attariwala, Natanam delves into dance traditions and idioms from Baroque-era Europe, Syria, Sri-Lanka, and beyond! Details here.
October 9, 2024 The Huron Symphony Orchestra performs Dabke at the Michigan Music Conference.
October 13, 2024 The Montgomery Philharmonic performs Dabke. Details here.
October 17, 2024 The Stevenson High School String Orchestra performs Dabke at Adlai E. Stevenson High School/Performing Arts Center in Lincolnshire, IL.
October 22, 2024 Pianist Riyad Nicolas speaks about Syrian composers and performs Aleppo Songs at Lewis University. Watch the talk and excerpted performance here.
November 2, 2024 Pianist Henk Mak van Dijk will perform Aleppo Songs at an art exhibit by Sona Sahakian in The Hague, Netherlands. Details here.
November 4, 2024 The L’Etoile Violin Duo perform Reflections & Refractions at Distler Hall, Tufts University. Details here.
November 10, 2024 At 4:00 p.m. the Riwaya Ensemble perform Palestinian Songs & Dances at the Palestine Museum in Woodbridge, CT on a program featuring music by Bushra El-Turk, Kinan Azmeh, & Sami Seif. Details here.
November 15, 2024 The Chamber Orchestra of Boston performs Dabke on a program with music by Smith, Bloch, Kachulis and traditional Nordic folk dances . Details here.
November 17, 2024 1:30 P.M. the Riwaya Ensemble perform Palestinian Songs & Dances at Yale University’s MENA Cultural Center, 305 Crown St. in New Haven, CT on a program featuring music by Bushra El-Turk, Kinan Azmeh, & Sami Seif. Free & open to the public.
November 19, 2024 At 7:30 pm the Riwaya Ensemble perform Palestinian Songs & Dances at Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center, NYC. Details here. This concert will be live-streamd:
Online: View Livestream. (Passcode: 544624)
November 22 & 23, 2024 The Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra will give the Japanese premiere of Strange Sea for orchestra on a program conducted by Robert Trevino and which will include Shostkovich’s Symphony No. 7. Details here.
November 23, 2024 The Anchorage Bowl Chamber Orchestra performs Dabke on a concert featuring music by Bartok & Rodrigo. Location: The Nave Spenard, 3502 Spenard Rd, Anchorage, AK Details here.
December 13, 2024 Violinist/violist Michael Barenboim to give the world-premiere of a new work for viola and electronics at the Boulez Saal in Berlin. This program will feature Pierre Boulez’s Anthémes II for violin and electronics as well as music by Gérard Grisey, Samir Odeh-Tamimi. Details here.
2025
January 8, 2025 Ensemble Nasmé makes its debut performance in Berlin at Kühlhaus with a fundraising concert to benefit medico international’s Gaza emergency aid. The program will feature Palestinian Songs & Dances for clarinet, string quartet and audio playback. Concert details here.
January 11, 14, 15, 16 & 17, 2025 As part of the El Festival Internacional de Música de Canarias Ensemble Nasmé & Michael Barenboim tour the Canary Islands with a program featuring music by Rossini, Dvorak, Mozart and my Palestinian Songs & Dances. Details here.
January 17, 2025 Conductor Erina Yashima leads the Frankfurt Radio Symphony orchestra on a program that includes Ramal for orchestra, the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 with cellist Bryan Cheng, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1. This concert will be broadcast on radio and Video-Livestream, at the hr-Sendesaal, Frankfurt.
January 18, 2025 Conductor Erina Yashima leads the Frankfurt Radio Symphony orchestra on a program that includes Ramal for orchestra, the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 with cellist Bryan Cheng, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1. At the Schlosstheater in Fulda. Details here.
January 22, 2025 Violinist Michael Barenboim gives the U.K. premiere of Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s Ensemble 10:10 in Liverpool, with Domingo Hindoyan conducting. At the Tung Auditorium. Details here.
January 24, 2025 The Huron Symphony Orchestra performs Dabke at the Michigan Music Conference.
January 31, 2025 Triple-threat composer, conductor, and pianist Dinuk Wijeratne makes his Edmonton Symphony Orchestra debut. Experience a provocative program featuring Wijeratne’s Fantasy Variations for Piano and Strings, recent music by Kareem Roustom and Luis Ramirez, and Chris Brubeck’s colourful Bass Trombone Concerto. Details here.
February 8, 2025 The San Jose State University band performs Dabke for wind ensemble on a program called Kaleidoscope! Details here.
March 2, 2025 Collage New Music Ensemble perform Xarja on a program featuring music by Olga Neuwirth, Gabriela Ortiz, Gabriella Smith, and Jörg Widmann at the Goethe-Institut Boston at 7:30 p.m. Details here.
March 9, 2025 World-premiere of There Will Come Soft Rains for French horn, mixed chorus, and string orchestra. A work commissioned by Coro Allegro, Boston. Details here.
March 31, 2025 US premiere of Pavane (pour les enfants défuntes) for viola & electronics in Boston, USA. Details T.B.A.
April 13, 2025 Marin Symphony Music Director finalist Fawzi Haimor counducts Ramal, followed by Marin Symphony Principal Flute MyungJu Yeo and Principal Harp Dan Levitan join forces in Mozart’s charming double concerto, and we end with the abundant joys of Dvořák’s final Symphony. Details here.
April 24, 2025 The University of Southern Mississippi School of Music’s new music director, Gregory Wolynec, conducts a program featuring Ramal with music by Sibelius and Jesse Montgomery. Details here.
April 24, 2025 Pianist Tanya Bannister gives that Louisiana premiere of Aleppo Songs on a program featuring flutist Andrea Loewy, with music by Debussy, Taktakishvilli, Schuman, and Liszt. Details here.
May 2, 4 & 5 2025 World-premiere of a concerto for trumpet and orchestra for the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and their principal trumpeter, Bassam Mussad, on a program that will also feature Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Details here.
The next season is coming along and I’ll be posting concerts as they appear.
Past Concerts
2024
January 26, 2024 A Far Cry perform excerpts from CLORINDA AGONISTES with mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux as part of their Street Stories project. Jordan Hall, Boston USA. Details here.
February 23, 2024 Cellist Leo Eguchi travels to Houston to present Unaccompanied; a performance featuring eight short new works for solo cello which explore personal stories of immigration and American identity. Each of the commissioned works is by immigrant and first-generation American composers tasked with tackling the question, “What does your American-ness sound like?”. The program features Breviary for solo cello. Details here.
February 25, 2024 Brightwork New Music Quartet to give the west-coast premiere of Xarja for soprano and percussion at Harvey Mudd College (Claremont Colleges) and 3/30 at Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena. Details here.
March 26, 2024 Brightwork New Music Quartet to give the west-coast premiere of Xarja for soprano and percussion at Cal State Fullerton’s Meng Hall. Details here.
March 30, 2024 Brightwork New Music Quartet to give the west-coast premiere of Xarja for soprano and percussion at Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena. Details here.
April 5, 2024 Conductor Dinuk Wijeratne performs Dabke for string orchestra on a program that features two piano concerti by Mozart and Brahms, and Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances in Ottawa. Details here.
April 5, 2024 Pre-premiere concert & fundraiser for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund featuring Palestinian Songs & Dances at Kühlhaus Berlin. Details here.
April 19, 2024 World-premiere of Palestinian Songs & Dances for clarinet, string quartet, and audio playback. This performance will be part of clarinetist Amer Hasan’s MA recital at Yale University’s School of Music. The concert will be held at 4:30 p.m. at Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall on Yale’s Campus.
April 24, 2024 Pianist Tanya Bannister performs Aleppo Songs at Angelle Hall in Lafayette, LA on a program featuring music by Debussy, Taktakishvilli, Schumann, & Liszt.
May 14, 2024 The Dekalb Symphony in Georgia performs Aleppo Songs for orchestra on a program featuring the music of Bartok, Sibelius, Gershwin and Zhong. Details here.
May 19, 2024 The Da Capo Chamber Players perform Letters Home for clarinet and cello at the Tenri Cultural Institute in Greenwich Village on a program featuring music by Chen Yi, Shirish Korde, Ramin Heydarbeghi, Yotam Haber and Füsun Köksal. Details here.
May 23, 2024 Boston-based cellist Leo Eguchi presents UNACCOMPANIED in Portland, Oregon, which features Roustom’s Breviary for solo cello. Details here.
May 26, 2024 Ensemble Phoenicia performs Palestinian Songs & Dances, for clarinet quintet, at the Palestine Museum in CT on a program featuring music by Kinan Azmeh and Sami Seif. “Exploring themes from Palestinian heritage to tributes to luminaries like Edward Said, the event will showcase the richness of Middle Eastern music through contemporary classical interpretations, bridging traditional motifs with modern expressions.” Details here.
June 6, 2024 Join us for A Joyful Noise, a concert to benefit Neighborhood Strings, on June 6, 2024 at Mechanics Hall. The evening of sparkling music, tantalizing desserts, and libations includes a world-premiere by acclaimed composer Kareem Roustom, performances by WCMS, Neighborhood Strings, and a host of guest artists. Guest artists come from Community MusicWorks, Boston String Academy, and The Newport String Project, other nationally recognized El Sistema inspired programs. Details here.
June 18, 2024 Violinist Molly Schneider performs an excerpt of Syrian Folk Songs – Book 1 for string quartet on her doctoral recital at the University of Georgia. Details here.
June 15, 2024 Composer mentor at New England Philharmonic student composer reading session. Details T.B.A.
A FAR CRY – SUMMER 2024 TOUR featuring Kinan Azmeh and Dinuk Wijeratne with a program that includes Dabke for string orchestra.
Ravinia Festival (Martin Theatre) – Highland Park, IL | TUESDAY, JULY 2 @ 7:30PM
Rockport Chamber Music Festival (Shalin Liu Performance Center) – Rockport, MA | FRIDAY, JULY 5 @ 7:30PM
St. Paul’s Cathedral – Boston MA | SATURDAY JULY 6 @ 4:00PM *FAMILY FRIENDLY!*
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts (Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell) – New York City, NY | JULY 9 @ 7:30PM *BROADCAST ON WQXR*
Newport Classical (The Breakers) – Newport, RI | JULY 12 @ 8:00PM
July 13, 2024 Pianist Riyad Nicolas performs a programme which includes works by Schumann, Liszt & ‘Aleppo Songs’ by Kareem Roustom, who shares Riyad’s Syrian roots.
At St Andrew’s Church, Colyton in Devon, U.K. Details here.
July 15 to 20, 2024 Composer-in-residence at the Greenwood Music Camp in Massachusetts.
July 20, 2024 Pianist Riyad Nicolas performs Aleppo Songs at Aberystwyth Arts Centre in Wales, U.K. Details here.
July 24 to August 7, 2024 Guest musician at Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music.
July 30, 2024 World-premiere of a new quintet for oud and string quartet. Details here.
October 1, 2023 The Balourdet Quartet give the southern premiere of FOUR DANCES FROM CLORINDA AGONISTES on a program featuring Haydn, Beach, and Mozart. Details here.
October 5, 2023 The Kendall Square Orchestra, directed by Kristo Kondakçi, perform Aleppo Songs for orchestra on a program with Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony. Details here.
October 8, 2023 Featuring a performance of Schubert’s extraordinary Cello Quintet with guest violist Danny Kim and cellist Blaise Déjardin (Boston Symphony Orchestra), and cellist Lluís Claret (New England Conservatory), the L’Étoile Violin Duo (Hsin-Lin Tsai and Miguel Pérez-Espejo) will also give the world premiere of Reflections & Refractions, a new work Kareem Roustom. Details here.
October 8, 2023 The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra performs Dabke at a free concert at the Wornall House, Kansas City, MO, on a program featuring the music of Mendelssohn String Symphony No. 2 in D, Mozart Horn Concerto No. 2, and Boccherini La Casa del Diavolo. Details here and here.
October 20, 2023 Violinist Joanna Kurkowicz and percussionist Matthew Sharrock perform Gnizo at a Williams College Faculty recital. The program features music by George Butterworth, Gabriela Lena Frank, Mozart and Bartok. Details here.
October 23, 2023 The Voices of Change Modern Music Ensemble in Dallas will give the Texas premiere of A Muffled Scream on a program that features music by Tania Leon, Eduardo Mata, and Miklos Rozsa. Details here.
October 25, 2023 Conductor, composer, and pianist Dinuk Wijeratne leads the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in giving the Candian premiere of Dabke on a program that features music by Elgar, Bartok and Wijeratne. Details here.
October 28, 2023 Pianist Donald Berman performs Aleppo Songs for piano solo at 8 pm at Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA as part of his Long Distance program. Details here.
October 28, 2023 The Balourdet Quartet perform a program featuring three works for string quartet by Kareem Roustom at Indiana University. Details here.
November 2, 2023 Cellist Leo Eguchi travels to Albuquerque, NM to present Unaccompanied; a performance featuring eight short new works for solo cello which explore personal stories of immigration and American identity. Each of the commissioned works is by immigrant and first-generation American composers tasked with tackling the question, “What does your American-ness sound like?”. The program features Breviary for solo cello. Details here.
November 5, 2023 Pianist Donald Berman performs Aleppo Songs for piano solo at Bargemusic in New York City as part of his Long Distance program. Details here.
November 5, 2023 Clarinetist Kimberly Cole Luevano performs A Muffled Scream for solo clarinet and electronics at the University of Memphis Community Clarinet Festival. Details here.
November 6, 2023 Cellist Leo Eguchi travels to Utah to present Unaccompanied; a performance featuring eight short new works for solo cello which explore personal stories of immigration and American identity. Each of the commissioned works is by immigrant and first-generation American composers tasked with tackling the question, “What does your American-ness sound like?”. The program features Breviary for solo cello. Details here.
November 26, 2023 Cellist Leo Eguchi travels to Brooklyn’s “B” Dry Goods to present Unaccompanied; a performance featuring eight short new works for solo cello which explore personal stories of immigration and American identity. Each of the commissioned works is by immigrant and first-generation American composers tasked with tackling the question, “What does your American-ness sound like?”. The program features Breviary for solo cello. Details T.B.A.
December 1, 2023 Pianist Thomas Stumpf and violinist Joanna Kurkowicz perform Hymn for violin and piano at a Tufts Composers concert. Details here.
December 2, 2023 The CMW Collective perform Syrian Folk Songs – Book 1 for string quartet. Details coming soon.
December 16, 2023 The New European Quartet performs String Quartet No. 1: Shades of Night on a program with music by Zaid Jabri, Kinan Abou-Afach, and György Ligeti. Utrecht, Holland. Details here.
Past Performances
2023
January 19, 2023 Conductor Erina Yashima makes her debut with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester at the stunning Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg with a program that includes Ramal for orchestra as well as music by Bloch and Dvorák. Details here.
January 20, 2023 Conductor Erina Yashima and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester travel to Lübeck with a program that includes Ramal for orchestra as well as music by Bloch and Dvorák. Details here.
January 22, 2023 Conductor Erina Yashima and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester give a live radio performance on NDR Kultur on the Sunday Concert Broadcast. Details here.
February 16, 2023 The new music collective, Musiqa, performs Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, on a program inspired by art work from the Islamic world. The program also includes music by Erberk Eryılmaz, Gity Razaz, and Aftab Darvishi. Details here.
February 18, 2023 The New England Philharmonic at Jordan Hall to give the Boston premiere of Ramal for orchestra. Details here.
February 25, 2023 The Akron Symphony Orchestra performs Dabke on a program titled Global Circus. Featuring Syrian refugees of the Sirkhane Social Circus School in a film by Pinar Demiral and projected artwork by Milad Yousufi. Details here.
February 25, 2023 World-premiere of Breviary for solo cello at Distler Hall, Tufts University at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. Details here. LIVE STREAM LINK HERE.
February 27, 2023 World-premiere of Hymn for violin and piano at Distler Hall, Tufts University. Details here. LIVE STREAM LINK HERE.
March 3, 2023 The world-renowned Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, under the direction of Tõnu Kaljuste give the European premiere of Hurry To The Light in Tallinn, Estonia. Also on the program is Dabke for string orchestra & Sufjan Stevens‘ Suite from the album “Run Rabbit Run”. Details here.
March 26, 2023 Dr. Erica Rumbley to give a performance-lecture titled Culture, Memory, and Hope in Kareem Roustom’s “Aleppo Songs” at College Music Society’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference. Details here.
April 2, 2023 World-premiere of a new motet for Emmanuel Music, Emmanuel Church in Boston. Details here.
April 15, 2023 The voice and percussion duo BeatSong, Soprano Sonja Tengblad and percussionist Jonathan Hess, perform Xarja in Cambridge, MA as part of the Celebrity Series of Boston concerts. Details here.
April 17 & 18, 2023 The Minnesota Orchestra performs a young person’s concert titled Music Around The Globe featuring Aleppo Songs. Details here.
April 29, 2023 Palaver Strings on a spring tour with through the northeastern USA perform in Boston’s City Space a program featuring a world-premiere by Kinan Azmeh and Dabke for string orchestra. Details here.
May 5, 12 & 13, 2023 In Mulieribus and the Portland Youth Philharmonic will give the west-coast premiere of Hurry To The Light for S.S.A. and string orchestra. For the May 5th concert details are here and for the May 12 & 13 concerts details here.
May 13, 2023 The Newport Strings Quartet to perform Four Dances From Clorinda Agonistes at the Newport Art Museum. Details here.
May 14, 2023 The Newport Strings Quartet to perform Four Dances From Clorinda Agonistes at the Four Corners Arts Center in Tiverton, RI. Details here.
June 9, 2023 Canadian premiere of String Quartet No. 1: Shades of Night at the International Music and Dance Academy at Domaine Forget, Charlevoix.
July 14 – 18, 2023 The FAME’s Institute String Orchestra directed by Irina Muresanu perform Dabke for string orchestra on a program featuring string music from around the world. July 14 – Skopje, North Macedonia – July 15 – Ohrid, North Macedonia – July 18 – Bucharest, Romania.
August 11 & 12, 2023 Sir Donald Runnicles conducts the world-premiere of The Clustered Vine, a new song cycle for mezzo-soprano Kelly O’Connor and the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra. The program also features Yefin Bronfman performing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1. Details here & here.
August 5 – 20, 2023 Kareem Roustom has been invited to be the composer-in-residence at the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival in Oregon’s wine country. A full list of the weekend concerts is here.
August 23, 2023 In collaboration with the Sayat Nova Dance Company, the Boston Landmarks orchestra performs Armenian Dances at the Hatch Shell in Boston. Details here.
August 28, 2023 It is a great honor to have my music included on the birthday celebration concert of renowned conductor, Tõnu Kaljuste with Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. Happy birthday, Maestro Kaljuste! Details here.
2021 – 2022
July 7 – 8, 2022 Conductor Erina Yashima gives the West-Coast premiere of Ramal for orchestra with the San Francisco Symphony on a program that features Lalo’s cello concerto and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. Details here.
July 13 – 14, 2022 World premiere of Clorinda Agonistes (Clorinda the Warrior), a new work for mezzo soprano, tenor, string quartet and electronics with dancers. Co-commissioned by the London based Shobana Jeyasingh Dance (https://www.shobanajeyasingh.co.uk/) & the Sadler’s Wells Theatre (https://www.sadlerswells.com/), this new work is a response work to Monteverdi’s opera Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, and re-imagines Clorinda as a contemporary refugee in the west living in exile. Clorinda Agonistes will receive its premiere at The Grange Festival in July and Sadler’s Wells and Lowry in the autumn, with a tour to follow. Details here.
July 16, 2022 Ginzo for cello and percussion to be performed at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in Tennessee. Details here.
August 6, 2022 Takumi Mamiya Mandolin recital Tokyo, featuring Roustom’s Hanjale for solo violin. Supported by Arts Council Tokyo（Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) under the auspices of Japan Mandolin Union, Plectrum Music Institute. Watch the archived performance here.
August 20 & 21, 2022 Letters Home for Violin and Cello to be performed at the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival on a program featuring Beethoven, Esmail, and de Bologne. Details here.
September 9 & 10, 2022 Clorinda Agonistes at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London. Details TBA here.
September 16 & 17, 2022 The ever inspiring A Far Cry string orchestra performs Dabke on their season opening concerts in Jordan Hall (Boston) and at the James Carr Amphitheater (Hingham, MA USA) on a program featuring Kinan Azmeh as clarinetist and composer, the clarinet concerto of Dinuk Wijeratne and Mieczsław Weinberg’s Symphony No. 10. Details here.
September 17, 2022 Handspring Puppet Company’s Little Amal, a 12-foot-tall puppet directed by Tea Alagić, has become an internationally recognized celebrity. Following her original appearance as the biggest star of the 2019 Obie Award-winning play, The Jungle, Little Amal and her team traversed over 5,000 miles across Europe for The Walk project, drawing attention to the plight of childhood refugees and asylum seekers at politically charged public gatherings. Now, Amal journeys to New York City as a beacon of hope and a larger-than-life symbol of the American immigrant experience. Little Amal’s exploration of the Lincoln Center campus offers a powerful opportunity to see it anew, through the eyes of a refugee child who has just arrived here. Featuring a New Orleans style second-line parade led by Jazz at Lincoln Center musicians and works by composer Kareem Roustom. Details here.
September 23, 2022 Pianist Linda Holzer will give a recital at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, performing the Arkansas premiere of Gwyneth Walker’s “Riddle Variations” and pieces by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov and Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom. Details here.
October 6, 2022 Conductor Robert Trevino leads the Malmö Symphony Orchestra in giving the world-premiere of a new work for orchestra titled Strange Sea. Details here.
October 8, 2022 Clorida Agonistes at Snape Maltings, Suffolk U.K. Details T.B.A. here.
October 18 & 19, 2022 Clorinda Agonistes at the Lowry in Manchester, U.K. Details here.
October 22, 2022 World-premiere of Breviery for Solo Cello. UNACCOMPANIED, A Classical Music Performance by Leo Eguchi Boston-based cellist Leo Eguchi presents: UNACCOMPANIED, a performance featuring eight short new works for solo cello which explore personal stories of immigration and American assimilation. Each of the commissioned works is by immigrant and first-generation American composers tasked with tackling the question, “What does your American-ness sound like?” Details here.
November 4, 2022 The EnVaGe ensemble, directed by Dr. César Leal will perform Abu Jmeel’s Daughter for narrator and chamber ensemble, at the historic Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, PA. Details here.
November 5, 2022 The Kankakee Valley Symphony Orchestra performs Dabke on a program featuring the music of Cimarosa, Mozart, Barber, and Greig. Details here.
November 15 & 16, 2022 Clorinda Agonistes at the Oxford Playhouse, Oxford U.K. Details here.
December 9, 2022 Aleppo Songs for solo piano to be performed by Don Berman as part of Dinosaur Annex Ensemble’s Hub of the Multiverse concert series. Watertown, MA USA. Details here.
December 16, 2022 BBC Radio 3 Afternoon Concert will broadcast Ramal for orchestra, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Fawzi Haimor conducting. The broadcast begins at 2:00 p.m. GMT. Details here.
October 17, 2021 The Pro Arte Chamber orchestra will perform Dabke on a program with music by Marcello and Beethoven. Lexington, MA. Details here.
November 4, 5 & 6 Palaver Strings perform Dabke on a program titled Affirmation. Details here.
November 5, 2021 Clarinetist Kinan Azmeh performs Clarinet Concerto: Adrift on the Wine-dark Sea with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra with Vinay Parameswaran conducting, in Ohio, USA. Details here.
November 19 – 22, 2021 The Oregon Symphony performs Dabke on a program featuring Mozart, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. Details here.
December 3, 2021 The Sunderman Conservatory Orchestra at Gettysburg College will perform Dabke on a live streamed program. Details TBA.
January 9, 2022 As part of Kareem Roustom’s residency with the Mannheim Philharmonic, violinist Michael Barenboim performs Roustom’s Violin Concerto No. 1 under the baton of Boian Videnoff conducting. Details here.
February 5, 2022 The Mannheim Philharmonic performs Dabke on a program with Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn. Details here.
March 13, 2022 The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra in New Hampshire will give the New England premiere of Ramal for orchestra on a program featuring the music of Strauss and Rachmaninoff. John Page, music director. Details here.
March 14, 2022 Duo Percussion Duo mini-festival at Distler Hall, Tufts University. The Verdant Vibes Duo and Transient Canvas duo perform works for percussion and violin, as well as marimba and bass clarinet. This concert will feature the Boston premiere of Gnizo for violin and percussion. Distler Hall, Tufts University’s Department of Music at 8 p.m.
March 14, 2022 Contemporary Chamber Music: Karakurenai at Yale University, New Haven CT. Yale Music department Students present a performance of various existing contemporary chamber works and arrangements. Composers include John Cage, Imogen Heap, Kareem Roustom, and Andy Akiho. At 6 p.m. Details here.
March 26, 2022 Songs of Refuge: A musical collaboration with Communisty MusicWorks and Dorcas International Institute of RI. World-premiere of Sostenere, a new work for solo violin and strings, commissioned by Community MusicWorks, in addition to the Providence premiere of Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes for string quartet, Dabke for string orchestra, and songs from Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Ukraine and elsewhere with community members who have emmigrated to the area from around the globe. I will be giving my conducting debut on this program. Free, 2 p.m. at the Providence Public Library.
April 4, 2022 Pianist Thomas Stumpf will give a recital at Tufts University’s Distler Hall on a varied program that will include the world premiere of my Grisaille No. 2 for solo piano. Distler Hall, Tufts University’s Department of Music at 8 p.m.
April 9 – 10, 2022 Join the Minnesota Orchestra for a journey where we’ll learn how folk songs inspire composers from all over the world to showcase their cultures through orchestral music. This one-hour Relaxed Family Concert is designed for audiences of all ages and abilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum and those with sensory sensitivities. Music by Bartók, Ruo, Greig, Roustom, Price and Moncayo. Details here.
May 1, 2022 The American premiere of Tesserae for brass quintet will be given at the NOVA Chamber Music Series in Salt Lake City, Utah on a program with the music of Bartók, Arlene Sierra and Dvořák. Details here.
May 6, 2022 The New European Ensemble gives the Belgian premiere of String Quartet No. 1: Shades of Night in Brussels at the Eglise du Béguinage. Facebook live link is here.
May 13 & 15, 2022. Violin Concerto No. 1 to receive its Dutch premiere with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, soloist Michael Barenboim and conductor Lahav Shani. Details here.
June 29, 2022 Pianist Steve Beck performs Soliloquia No. 1 at the Sewanee Music Festival. Details here.
2021
January 21, 2021 Noon (Eastern US time).The Boston Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Wilkins perform Aleppo Songs for orchestra. Streaming through the BSO NOW series for 30 days after the premiere.
January 28, 2021 at 7 p.m. (Eastern US time). Community MusicWorks Chamber Players present the World-Premiere of Gnizo, for Violin and Percussion, which was composed for Husband and wife duo, Piero Guimaraes (percussion) and EmmaLee Holmes- Hicks (Violin). Program details here. Streaming link here.
January 31, 2021 at 3 p.m. (Eastern US time). Pianist Thomas Stumpf will give a solo piano recital titled “Turbulence, Sorrow, and Solace: a recital for our troubled times”. The program will include excerpts from Aleppo Songs for solo piano. Streaming link here.
February 19, 2021 Philharmonic Society Presents the Triumph Over Adversity series with concert #2: Sphinx Virtuosi, featuring Dabke. Details here.
February 20, 2021 at 8 p.m. (Eastern US time). Husband and wife duo, Piero Guimaraes (percussion) and EmmaLee Holmes- Hicks (Violin) to give a second performance of Gnizo, for Violin and Percussion, as part of the Verdant Vibes music series. Streaming link here.
April 9, 2021 The Montana State University Symphony Orchestra performs Dabke. Details here.
April 13, 2021 Oberlin Conservatory clarinetist, Katia Waxman, gives her virtual senior recital featuring A Muffled Scream, for clarinet and electronics. Details here.
May 13, 14 & 16, 2021 World-premiere of Violin Concerto No. 2 for violinist Angela Fuller-Heyde and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The program also features Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture. Details here.
July 19, 2021 WRR 101.1 FM will broadcast the April premiere of Violin Concerto No. 2: With Might and Main given by Angie Fuller-Heyded and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with Gemma New conducting. Details here.
2020
January 12 & 13, 2020 World-premiere of Ice, Wind, War & Spring, a new work for choir and orchestra to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII with the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Fawzi Haimor conducting in the Stadthalle Reutlingen, Germany. January 12 details here & January 13 details here.
January 24 & 25, 2020 The Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse will give the French premiere of Ramal for orchestra. Details here.
February 22nd, 2020 Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia performs the final movement of String Quartet No. 1: Shades of Night in Richmond, VA on a program that features the music of Evan Premo, Raven Chacon and Jessie Montgomery. Details here.
CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
March 11, 2020 The renowned Amernet String Quartet will perform Benjamin Britten’s String Quartet No. 2 (1945), Bernard Rands String Quartet No. 2 (1994), and the Boston Premiere Kareem Roustom’s String Quartet No. 1: Shades of Night (2018). Details here.
March 27, 2020 The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra performs Dabke on a program that features music by Orsho, Barrack & Elgar. Details here.
April 4, 2020 Hymns of the Rig Veda: Join Sweetest in the Gale, Oratorio Chorale’s women’s ensemble for a mystical journey as we present Indo-European hymns from 1500 B.C.E. famously set to music for women’s ensemble and harp by Gustav Holst. This program also includes Hot Tea, Mint & Olives by Kareem Roustom. Falmouth, ME Details here.
April 5, 2020 Hymns of the Rig Veda: Join Sweetest in the Gale, Oratorio Chorale’s women’s ensemble for a mystical journey as we present Indo-European hymns from 1500 B.C.E. famously set to music for women’s ensemble and harp by Gustav Holst. This program also includes Hot Tea, Mint & Olives by Kareem Roustom. Brunswick, ME Details here.
April 9, 2020 European premiere of Xarja for soprano and percussion at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Details T.B.A.
April 25, 2020 Pro Arte Chamber orchestra performs Dabke on a program that features music by Strauss, Neruda & Beethoven. Boston, USA. Details here.
May 7, 2020 The Palaver Strings perform Dabke at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA. Details here.
May 18 & 19, 2020 The Minnesota Orchestra performs Aleppo Songs for orchestra a series of concerts for young people. Details here.
May 24, 2020 The Neue Philharmonie-Wesfalen will perform Dabke and Clarinet Concerto: Adrift on the Wine-dark Sea with soloist Kinan Azmeh; Germany. Details here.
October 11, 2020 Members of the Berlin Symphoniker perform Tesserae for Brass Quintet on a literary themed program with music by Copland, Caplet and a reading by Syrian author Roua Houranieh. Details here.
2019
February 20, 2019 Dabke performed by Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie in Brussels, Belgium at BOZAR. Details here.
February 23, 2019 Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra performs Aleppo Songs for orchestra. Details here.
March 2 – 3, 2019 New England premiere of String Quartet No. 1: Shades of Night with Community MusicWorks Chamber Players. Providence, RI. Details here.
March 6, 2019 World premiere of Violin Concerto No. 1 with soloist Michael Barenboim, and the Pierre Boulez Ensemble. Details here.
April 11, 2019 European premiere of String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night with the Chilingirian Quartet West Dean College, Chichester UK. Details here.
April 19, 2019 Cellist Kumhee Lee performs Hanjale for solo cello at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Manhattan as part of her solo cello recital that also features the music of J.S. Bach and Kaija Saariaho. Free and open to the public at 7 p.m. J. S. Bach Cello Suite No.3 in C major Kareem Roustom Hanjale Kaija Saariaho Spins and Spells Dreaming Chaconne Près
April 27, 2019 Cellist Kumhee Lee gives her final DMA recital at the Staller Center for the Arts, NYU Stony Brook from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. The Staller Center is located at 100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook University Stony Brook, 11794 United States + Google Map J. S. Bach Cello Suite No.3 in C major Kareem Roustom Hanjale Kaija Saariaho Spins and Spells Dreaming Chaconne Près May 2, 2019 The Tufts Symphony Orchestra performs Aleppo Songs for orchestra. John Page, conductor. Details here.
May 8, 2019 London premiere of String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night with the Chilingirian Quartet in London at Purcell Hall, Southbank Centre. Details here.
May 11, 2019 The New York Philharmonic performs an excerpt from Aleppo Songs for orchestra on a Young Peoples Concert at David Geffen Hall. The program also features music by Bartok, Huang Ruo, Roberto Sierra and young composers TBA. Details here.
May 17, 2019 World-premiere of a Hurry To The Light for A Far Cry string orchestra and Lorelei Ensemble based on text from a Emily Wilson’s new translation of Homer’s The Odyssey. Boston, USA at Jordan Hall. Detailshere .
May 18, 2019 Symphoria Orchestra (Syracuse, NY USA) concludes the 2018-19 season with a program featuring music of Syrian-born composer Kareem Roustom and Beethoven’s triumphant and joyous Symphony No. 9. Details here.
May 18, 2019 Dabke is on the program of works performed by the Conservatory Orchestra of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso in Chile. Details here.
June 14 – 15, 2019 Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago: Composer residency & world-premiere of Turn To The World: A Whitman Cantata for choir and large orchestra commissioned by the Grant Park Music Festival. Details here.
September 13, 2019 Cellist Anne Lerner-Wright performs Hanjale in San Rafael, CA. Details here.
September 14, 2019 Pianist Kyle Walker performs Aleppo Songs on a recital in Columbia, SC. Details here.
September 16, 2019 World-premiere of Clarinet Concerto: Adrift on the Wine-dark Sea with soloist Kinan Azmeh with the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Fawzi Haimor conducting in the Stadthalle Reutlingen, Germany. Details here.
September 26, 2019 Dabke for string orchestra with the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Fawzi Haimor conducting in the Stadthalle Reutlingen, Germany. Details here.
September 27, 2019 Clarinet Concerto: Adrift on the Wine-dark Sea with soloist Kinan Azmeh with the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Fawzi Haimor conducting at the Franziskaner Konzerthaus Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany. Details here.
September 26 & 27, 2019 Conductor Ben Rous performs Ramal for orchestra with the Charlottesville Symphony on a program that features Mozart’s Symphony No. 32 and the Brahms Piano Concerto. Details here.
October 25 & 27, 2019 North American premiere of Clarinet Concerto: Adrift on the Wine-dark Sea with soloist Kinan Azmeh with the Park Ridge Civic Orchestra in Chicago. Details below:
10/25 for Discover Symphony is https://www.discoversymphony.org/
10/27 for PRCO is https://www.parkridgecivicorchestra.org/
November 8, 2019 Pianist Kyle Walker performs Aleppo Songs in Nashville, TN at Belmont University’s Harton Hall. Details here.
November 15, 2019 Conductor Fawzi Haimor leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra on program for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 that features Roustom’s Ramal for orchestra, Vassilenko’s Trumpet Concerto and Prokofiev Symphony No. 7 at BBC Music Studios. Details here.
November 23, 2019 Pianist Kyle Walker performs Aleppo Songs at the Berkley Piano Club in Berkley, CA. Details here.
December 9, 16 & 20, 2019 The New European Ensemble gives the Dutch premiere of String Quartet No. 1: Shades of Night at the Culture Unlimited Festival in Amsterdam. Details for the event on the 9th here 16th here and for the event on the 20th here.
2018
January 24, 2018. The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra will perform at the Opening Night of 2018 Illinois Music Education Conference (IMEC) presented by Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA). The program will feature the music of Shostakovich, Britten, Lili Boulanger, Joan Tower and Dabke by Kareem Roustom. Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, IL. Details here.
January 27, 2018 Husband and wife duo BeatSong, Soprano Sonja Tengblad & percussionist Jonathan Hess, to give the World Premiere of Xarja for soprano & percussion at Tufts University’s Distler Hall. The program will also feature works byTan Dun, Luciano Berio, John Dowland, and others. Distler Performance Hall 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. Free and open to the public. Directions.
February 18, 2018 Western USA Premiere of Xarja for soprano & percussion at Rice University in Houston, TX. Details below.
February 25, 2018 Mid-Western Premiere of “Embroidered Verses” at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa by the Grinnell College Singers under the direction of John Rommereim. Details TBA.
March 11, 2018 World Premiere of Rage Against the tyrant(s), a new work for mixed chorus and string orchestra commissioned by Coro Allegro. David Hodgkins, music director. Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA USA at 3 p.m. Buy tickets here.
March 14th – 18th, 2018 CityMusic Cleveland performs Dabke for string orchestra at a series of six concerts in and around Cleveland. Details here.
April 6, 2018 The Piedmont Wind Symphony performs Dabke for wind ensemble. Details here.
April 6 & 7, Syrian Expart Orchestra perform Dabke in Hannover Germany and Göttingen. Details here.
April 10, 2018 Pianist Sally Pinkas to give the New Hampshire premiere of Aleppo Songs at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College. Details here.
April 15, 2018 The Orkest Orventus in the Netherlands to give the European premiere of Dabke for Wind Ensemble in Tilburg as part of their Common Ground concert program. Details here.
April 19 – 23, 2018 Residency and chamber music concert at Georgetown University. Details here.
May 3, 2018 Virtuoso mandolinist Avi Avital to perform ‘Hanjale’ at Berlin’s newest concert hall, the Pierre Boulez Saal. The concert will also feature works by Bach, Scarlatti Petrassi & others. Details here.
May 4, 2018 Mid-western premiere of Aleppo Songs for orchestra to be given the Dearborn Symphony. Details here.
May 9, 2018 Kassel, Germany.
June 1, 20, 2018 The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra holds a concert to honour the strength, resilience and courage of refugees around the world. This is a time that refugees need us more than ever. The program will feature Dabke for string orchestra as well as music by Syrian refugee George Nouneh who is a guitarist and composer living in Cyprus, and Beethoven. Let’s stand #WithRefugees. Details here.
June 8, 9 2018 As part of the Holland Festival, the Metropole Orkest performs alongside the Syrian Big Band on a program that also includes the Dutch premiere of Dabke for string orchestra. Details here.
June 23, 2018 The New European Ensemble perform works by Baderddin, Jabri, & Roustom at the Oriental Landscapes Festival in Amsterdam. Details here.
June 25, 2018 The New European Ensemble perform works by Baderddin, Jabri, & Roustom at the Oriental Landscapes Festival in Amsterdam. Details here.
July 8, 2018 Traces sextet to have its New York state premiere at Music From Salem. The program features Ernö Dohnányi Piano Quartet #2 & Kareem Roustom Traces for String Quartet, piano & clarinet. Andrea Segar & Judith Eissenberg, violins; Lila Brown, viola; Eric Thomas, clarinet; Scott Kluksdahl, cello; Nina Tichman, piano. Details here.
July 25 & 27, 2018 New York. Open rehearsal with panel, and New York premiere of Dabke for triple string quartet with A Dream Unfinished. Details here.
July 30 – August 5, 2018 Kareem Roustomappears as GTMF’s first ever composer-in-residence. The residency includes the world-premiere of Roustom’s String Quartet No. 1: Shades of Night which was commissioned by GTMF. Details here.
September 27, 28, 29, 2018 The Minnesota Orchestra performs Ramal on a program featuring Holst’s The Planets and Adams’ Gnarly Buttons. Osmo Vänskä conducting. Details here.
September 30 – October 28 The Detroit based Sphinx Virtuosi on tour, which will feature an exciting new program entitled Music Without Borders, illuminating works by composers from communities searching for harmony and separated by time, distance, hardship and conflict. The tour will include works by Emmy nominated Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom, Dmitri Shostakovich, Gaspar Cassadó, and features a newly commissioned work by Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer, Terence Blanchard. Tour dates here.
October 1 & 2, 2018 Western premiere of Traces sextet & Letters Home by the Soli Chamber Ensemble in San Antonio, TX. Details here.
October 3, 2018 Richmond, VA USA. The TUCKER-BOATWRIGHT FESTIVAL FEATURING RICHMOND SYMPHONY, “MIDDLE EASTERN CONNECTIONS”The evening’s performance features Mozart’s “Abduction” from the Seraglio Overture, Beethoven’s Turkish March, Kareem Roustom’s Dabke, Fazil Say’s Symphonic Dances, Charles Ives’s Country Band March, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 88. Details here.
October 7, 2018 Pianist Thomas Stumpf to give the world-premiere of Soliloquia No. 1 for piano solo on a varied program that also features music by John McDonald. With guest artists Philipp Stäudlin, saxophone and Scott Woolweaver, viola. Free; no tickets required. 3pm – 5pm Distler Hall, Tufts University, Medford, MA. Map
October 19, 2018 Concert and event at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI, USA. Details coming soon.
November 20, 2018 Musicians of the Deutsche Oper Berlin to give a chamber music concert that includes Dabke for string orchestra and the European premiere of Hanjale for solo cello.
December 3, 2018 Ramal for orchestra performed by the Württembergische Philharmonie in Reutlingen, Germany under the direction of Fawzi Haimor. Details here.
2017
January 27, 2017 Virtuoso mandolinist Avi Avital to give the Spanish premiere of Hanjale for solo mandolin in Madrid. Details here.
March 3, 2017 Pianist Thomas Stumpf to give the world premiere of Aleppo Songs for solo piano at Tufts University’s Distler Hall at 8:00 p.m. Concert details here.
March 10, 2017 The Chamber Project St. Louis to give the mid-Western premiere of my Abu Jmeel’s Daughter for narrator and chamber group on a program that also includes Valerie Coleman’s Portraits of Langston and Stravinsky’s L’Historie du soldat . Program details TBA here.
March 17, 2017 “Salaam Syria” at the stunning Elbphilharmonie Great Hall in Hamburg, Germany. This program, which includes Roustom’s Dabke for string orchestra, will bring together members of the Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra and orchestral musicians from Hamburg in a program that features works by composers of Syrian heritage. Details here.
March 21, 2017 Klara Festival The Syrian Expat Symphony Orchestra join forces with the National Orchestra of Belgium on this wide ranging program that includes music from Syria, works by Puccini, Shostakovitch, Casals, Hendrickx and the Belgian premiere of Dabke for string orchestra. Details here.
April 1, 2017 The DHQ and friends are thrilled to present our final installment of United We Play. Join us for an afternoon of chamber music featuring musicians of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Opera. Program includes works by Brahms, Saint-Saens, Copland, Roustom, Ginastera, Bloch, Hindemith and Rachmaninoff. Admission is free, with 100% of donations going to the International Rescue Committee. Come make a difference! Details here.
April 3, 2017 SYZYGY, the contemporary music ensemble of SMU Meadows School of the Arts, presents an evening of innovative music from a number of musical periods with several special guest artists. The concert will begin with Meadows alumna Anna Song in one of the first performances of Syrian composer Kareem Roustom’s Aleppo Songs for solo piano, a beautiful and immediate work taking the Syrian conflict as its point of departure. Second on the program is a performance of Erik Satie’s groundbreaking Dadaist work, Parade. Details here.
April 23 & 28, 2017 Houston: Musicians from the Shepherd School of Music perform Buhur & Letters Home at two community outreach concerts. Details here.April 28, 2017 U.K. premiere of A Voice Exclaiming for triple string quartet at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Details about the performance here. Watch a video of the third movement from A Voice Exclaiming here. Concert details here.
May 2, 2017 European premiere of Buhur (2008) for clarinet and string trio during the inaugural season of the Pierre Boulez Saal, at the Barenboim Said Conservatory in Berlin, Germany. The Damascus Festival Chamber Players, Kinan Azmeh – Artistic Director. Details here.
May 5, 2017 Dabke for string orchestra to be performed by the Staats Theatre Kassel Orchestra in Kassel, Germany under the direction of Anja Bihlmaier. Details here.
May 6 & 14 The Acacia Youth String Orchestra to give the Indonesian premiere & a second performance (Bandung & Jakarta) of Dabke for string orchestra. Details here.
June 3, 2017 Pianist Joanne Chang will give the Chinese premiere of Aleppo Songs (excerpts) in Nanking, China. Details here.
June 16, 2017 The New European Ensemble will give the European premiere of Aleppo Songs in The Hague, Netherlands as part of the Oriental Landscapes tour. Details here.
June 17, 2017 The New European Ensemble Oriental Landscapes tour travels to Utrecht. Details here.
June 18th, 2017 The New European Ensemble’s Oriental Landscapes tour travels to Rotterdam where they will give the Dutch premiere of Buhur for clarinet and string trio. Details here.
June 21, 2017 The New European Ensemble Oriental Landscapes tour travels to Amsterdam. Details here.
June 21, 2017 A fundraising concert for the ACLU will include the West-Coast premiere of Buhur for clarinet and string trio on a program that features the music of Golijov, Palestrina, Villa-Lobos & Shostakovitch . Details here.
June 23, 2017 Kinan Azmeh to give the European premiere of A Muffled Scream (for solo clarinet & electronics) at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin. Fellow composers and clarinetists Jörg Widmann and Kinan Azmeh invite audiences on a musical journey of discovery through three centuries, in a program that will include works from three continents by Mozart, Stravinsky, Poulenc, Elliot Carter, Steve Reich, Solhi al-Wadi, and Kareem Roustom, as well as Widmann and Azmeh. Details here.
July 12, 2017 Conductor Fawzi Haimor to give the Chicago premiere of Ramal for orchestra at the Grant Park Music Festival on a program that features Haydn’s London Symphony (No. 104) and Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis. Details here.
July 12, 2017 Pianist Joanne Chang performs selections from Aleppo Songs for piano solo in Taiwan at Tzu Chi University.
July 25, 2017 Pianist Sally Pinkas, clarinetist Kinan Azmeh & the Apple Hill String Quartet to give the Apple Hill Center for Chamber music premiere of Traces for piano sextet. Details TBA.
August 9, 2017 The Boston Landmarks Orchestra will give the world premiere of Aleppo Songs for orchestra. Details here.
September 24, 2017 In a concert and awards ceremony for the Nuremberg Human Rights Prize 2017, Marcus Bosch conducts the Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg on a program that includes the German premiere of Ramal for orchestra & Dabke. Some details here.
October 3, 2017 European premiere of Aleppo Songs for orchestra by the Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra and Berlin area musicians at the Konzertsaal der Universität der Künste. Details here.
October 9, 2017 The ensemble Fear No Music will give the West-Coast premiere of Aleppo Songs for piano solo in Portland, OR. Details here.
October 11, 2017 Canadian premiere of Aleppo Songsfor orchestra in Hamilton, Ontario by the National Academy Orchestra conducted by Boris Brott. Details here.
November 5, 2017 The Rowan University (New Jersey) String Ensemble directed by Timothy Schwartz will present a concert titled “Remembering the Past – Anticipating the Future”This concert features “Dabke” by Kareem Roustom as well as music by Arturo Rodriguez and Jessie Montgomery. The String Ensemble will also perform Dmitri Shostakovich’s powerful Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a (from String Quartet No. 8), which was written in 1960 and dedicated to “the victims of fascism and the war.” Details here.
November 5, 2017 The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra to give the Chicago premiere of Dabke for string orchestra on a program with works by Joan Tower, Dimitri Shostakovich, Lili Boulanger & Benjamin Britten. Detailshere .
November 8, 2017 Pianist Tanya Bannister to give the New York premiere of Aleppo Songs at the Roadmaps Festival. Details here.
November 9, 2017 Excerpts of Aleppo Songs herefor piano solo performed in Portland, Oregon by pianist Jeff Payne at the Makrokosmos Project. Details .
November 15, 2017 Pianist Elisaveta Blumina to give a performance of “Oh People Leave Me To My Sorrows” at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Details here.
November 16, 2017 Belgian premiere of Ramal for orchestra at LUCA University for the arts in Leuven with Symfonieorkest under maestro Ivan Meylemans on a program that features music by Arthur Meulemans, Thomas Adès, Frans Schreker, and Paul Hindemith. Details here.
2016
January 16, 2016 BOHO Players chamber orchestra gives the Belgian premiere of Dabke for string orchestra on a program that paints a “portrait of a single immigrant mother who fights for a decent life for her and her child.” Works by Schubert, Mahler, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, to Piazzolla, as well as works by contemporary composers Zaid Jabri, Salim Dada, Kareem Roustom and Nabil Benabdeljalil. In partnership with Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen,a number of refugees will also relate their personal experiences. Details here.
March 15, 2016 at 8 p.m.: Tufts Composers Concert – Pianist Thomas Stumpf will perform a work by Shawn Jaeger with violinist Joanna Kurkowicz, “Oh people, leave me to my sorrows” Kareem Roustom, and Stumpf’s “Eurydice” for three sopranos. Distler Hall, Tufts University.
May 15, 2016 at 3 p.m.: Thomas Stumpf performs “Oh people, leave me to my sorrows” and other works at the historic Follen Church in Lexington, MA. Details here.
April 13, 2016. Avi Avital gives the Berlin premiere of Hanjale for solo Mandolin. Details here.
April 15, 2016. Avi Avital gives the French premiere of Hanjale for solo Mandolin in Paris at Auditorium du Louvre. Details here.
May 22, 2016 Dabke for string orchestra to be performed at the Unity in Music concert series at Dartington U.K. In aid of South Devon Refugee Support Network. Details here.
June 4, 2016 7:30 p.m. “Letters Home” (for violin and cello) on a program titled From Damascus to Kabul Celebrating artists in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. St. Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel St. Saviourgate York, U.K. Details here.
June 6, 2016 Venice Beach performance (pre-concert premiere) of A Muffled Scream for clarinet and electronics at the Claremont Clarinet Festival. Christin Hablewitz, clarinet and Edward Park, electronics. Details here.
June 12 – 18, 2016 West-Coast premiere of A Muffled Scream for clarinet and electronics at the Claremont Clarinet Festival. Christin Hablewitz, clarinet and Edward Park, electronics. Details here.
August 17th World premiere of Armenian Dances by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and the Sayat Nova Dance Company. DCR Boston Hatch Shell. Details here.
August 19 & 20 American premiere of Ramal for orchestra at the Grand Teton Music Festival under the direction of Donald Runnicles. August 19th details here and August 20th details here.
September 2 European premiere of Dabke for string orchestra to be performed at the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück in Germany with members ofThe Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra & conducted by Naci Özgüc. Details about the concert here.
September 26 The Gateway Chamber Orchestra, under Gregory Wolynec, give the Tenessee premiere of Dabke for string orchestra. Details here.
September 26 Pianist Nare Karoyan performs my Oh people, leave me to my sorrows for solo piano at St. Augustin Church in Coburg, Germany. Details here.
October 7 Boston premiere of Traces for piano sextet with Kinan Azmeh, Sally Pinkas and the Apple Hill String Quartet. Details coming soon.
November 12 Mideast by the Midwest: The Toledo Symphony and the National Arab Orchestra, under Michael Ibrahim, will give the Ohio premiere of my Hewar for takht (traditional Arab chamber ensemble) and orchestra. Purchase tickets here.
November 17 Cellist Bryan Hayseltt to give the NY premiere of Hanjale for solo cello at the NYU Steinhardt School of Music on a program that features works by Debussy, Boccherini, Martino, & Sollima. Details here.
2015
January 16, 2015 – The Antithesis Project performs Roustom’s ‘Letters Home’ for clarinet & viola at McNally Smith College of Music, St. Paul MN.
February 2015 – Date & time T.B.A. Roustom to be guest lecturer at Curtis Institute of Music.
February 7, 2015 Philadelphia premiere of Traces for clarinet, piano and string quartet with Kinan Azmeh, clarinet, Sally Pinkas, piano and the Apple Hill String Quartet. Also on the program is Roustom’s A Muffled Scream for solo clarinet. Details here.
February 11, 2015 Swedish premiere of Ramal for orchestra by the Malmo Opera orchestra under maestro Ralf Kircher. Details here.
March 29, 2015 the College of William & Mary Wind Ensemble to give world premiere of Dabke for wind ensemble at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. Details here.
Roustom chosen as Artist in Residence at William & Mary 2014 – 2015 Season
Kareem has been awarded a residency at William & Mary College where he take part in concerts and give seminars and workshops during four visits to the W & M campus during the 2014 – 2015 season. Dates T.B.A. and details about the residency here.
April – May. Pianist Nare Karoyan will premiere Roustom’s Oh people, leave me to my sorrows for solo piano in Yerevan, Armenia on April 29th (World premiere), Potsdam, Germany on May 10th and Berlin on May 31st. Details here.
May 2015. The William & Mary Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Paul Bhasin, will tour China and will feature Roustom’s Dabke for wind ensemble on their concert programs. Details about the tour are here.
May 17th, 2015. Queens New Music Festival. ISSA Sonus Ensemble perform new works, mostly duets for flute with viola or cello, that bridge music traditions with underlying hues of Eastern and Middle Eastern soundscapes. Roustom’s Letters Home (in a version for flute and viola) will be on the program. Details here.
July 1st, 2015 The Pittsburgh Symphony under resident conductor Fawzi Haimor will perform Dabke for string orchestra as part of their Music for the Spirit series. Details here.
July 31st, 2015 Virtuoso mandolinist Avi Avital will give the Swiss premiere of Roustom’s Hanjale for solo mandolin at the Verbier Music Festival. Details here.
August 2nd, 5th & 6th, 2015 the West-Eastern Divan Brass, Buenos Aires. The West-Eastern Divan Brass will give the world premiere of a new work titled ‘Tesserae’ for brass quintet. Details of the performances are here.
August 25th, 2015 Apple Hill Center for chamber music. Featuring the Dirt Road Ensemble, Leonard Matczynski, conductor; and to celebrate the life of civil rights activist Jonathan Daniels, we will end the summer with gospel music. The program will feature the New Hampshire premiere of Roustom’s A Voice Exclaiming for triple string quartet. Details here.
September 19, 2015 – World Premiere of Dialogue for Takht and Orchestra. The Michigan Philharmonic and the National Arab Orchestra.
Thanks to a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Roustom has been commissioned by the Michigan Philharmonic and the National Arab Orchestra Roustom to compose a new work for Takht (the traditional small instrumental ensemble in Arabic music consisting of Nay, or bamboo flute, Kanun, a plucked zither, Oud, violin and hand percussion) and orchestra. The work is designed as a series of variations on a theme and each variation will feature one of the takht instrumentalists in dialogue with the orchestra. Premiere date T.B.A. but is scheduled for September 2015.
November 8th, 2015 Pianist Nare Karoyan performs “Oh people, leave me to my sorrows.” Cologne, Germany. Details here.
November 28th, 2015 Pianist Nare Karoyan performs “Oh people, leave me to my sorrows” at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Cologne, Germany. Details here.
December, 5th 2015 – World premiere Embroidered Verses. The Crossing Choir with Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble and Dalal Abu Amneh
Saturday December 5, 2015, 8 pm @ Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College
Al-Bustan’s project “Words Adorned: Andalusian Poetry and Music,” presents The Crossing in world premieres by Arab-American composers Kareem Roustom and Kinan Abou-afach, who take inspiration from Andalusian poetry (muwashshahat) – in collaboration with Al-Bustan’s renowned Takht Ensemble and Dalal Abu Amneh, one of Palestine’s most popular singers, who mixes Tarab (classical Arabic singing) and Arabic folk music, focusing on different Maqamat (the system of melodic modes used in Arabic music). The concert will also feature four popular muwashshahat from the Levant and North Africa (by composers Rahbani Brothers from Lebanon and Taher Guizani from Tunisia). It is a rare opportunity to hear the ensemble sing in Arabic and collaborate with new friends from around the world. Part of Bryn Mawr College’s Performing Arts Series.
Join us and Al-Bustan’s Takht Ensemble for an open rehearsal on November 24th @ 6:30 PM at Trinity Center for Urban Life. Details here.
December 5th Cantilena Women’s Chorale to perform ‘Hot tea, Min & Olives’ Arlington, MA 7:30 p.m. Details here.
2014
January 22nd, 2014 4:00 p.m. – New England Conservatory Intercultural InstituteEmmy-nominated composer Kareem Roustom presents examples of his recent film and concert music in a discussion of musical representations of the Middle East. Pierce Hall, 4:00 p.m. . Details here.
February 9th, 2014 – Tufts University, Medford MA. The outstanding performance faculty of the Tufts music department joins select student musicians in a concert of wide-ranging repertoire of instrumental and vocal chamber music, works for chamber orchestra, world music, and jazz. Composers to be featured include Copland, Shostakovich, Poulenc, Roustom, and more. Details here.
February 15th, 2014 – Western USA premiere of Traces at Arizona State University Tempe, AZ. With Sally Pinkas – piano, Kinan Azmeh – Clarinet and the Apple Hill String Quartet. Details here.
April 2nd, 2014 – Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey. Residency and concert of chamber works with guest musicians Kinan Azmeh – clarinet, Hanna Khoury – violin and viola, Kinan Abou Afach – Cello, Valdimir Dyo- Violin. The residency will feature a program for young audiences, workshops for university students and an evening concert featuring our guest musicians and the Rowan University Women’s Chorus performing Roustom’s “Hot Tea, Mint and Olives” with text by poet Ibtisam Barkaat. Details coming soon!
June 1st 2014 Dartington Hall, Devon U.K. A benefit concert for Shelter Box Syrian Refugee campaign under the direction of Oliver Butterworth the programme will include works by Britten, Elgar, the late Syrian composer Dia Succari, Scriabin and the U.K. premiere of Roustom’s Dabke for string orchestra. The very talented pianist Riyad Nicolas is also on the programme. Details here.
July 12th – World Premiere of Hanjale for solo mandolin. Avi Avital at the Braunschweig Music Festival, Warberg Germany. Details here.
August 3rd (2 concerts) Hanjale for solo mandolin on the program of a solo mandolin recital by Avi Avital at the Choriner Musiksommer, Germany Details here.
August 13th Hanjale for solo mandolin on the program of a solo mandolin recital by Avi Avital at the Rheingau Musik Festival, Germany. Details here.
August 11th & 13th 2014 – Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina. World premiere of Ramal, a new work for orchestra commissioned by the Daniel Barenboim foundation for the Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Details here.
August 17th 2014 – Lucerne Festival, Switzerland. Maestro Daniel Barenboim and the West Eastern Divan Orchestra to give the Swiss premiere of Ramal at the Lucerne Festival. Details here.
August 20th, 2014 – BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Maestro Daniel Barenboim and the West Eastern Divan Orchestra to give the U.K. premiere of Ramal at the BBC Proms. Details here.
August 22nd, 2014 – Salzburg Festival, Austria. Maestro Daniel Barenboim and the West Eastern Divan Orchestra to give the Austrian premiere of Ramal at the Lucerne Festival. Details here.
November 12, 2014 The Antithesis Project to give Mid-west premiere of Letters Home for clarinet and viola. 7:30pm, Annett Recital Hall, La Crosse WI. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse New Music Festival. Details here.
November 16, 2014 – The Antithesis Project performs ‘Letters Home’ at Honey, Minneapolis MN.
November 18, 19 & 23, 2014 – Hassan Moataz, cellist to give Japanese premiere of Hajale for solo cello as part of his tour with pianist Tadashi Suenaga.
1) 11/18 Tokyo (Sonorium salon)
2) 11/19 Tokyo (Suginami Koukaido Hall)
3) 11/23 Sendai (Kawai Music Salon)
December 12, 2014 – The Antithesis Project performs ‘Letters Home’ at Mound Westonka High School Auditorium, Minnetrista MN.
2013
Friday, September 27th, 5-7 pm – Providence Athenaeum, Providence RI. Composer Kareem Roustom; Community MusicWorks (CMW) Artistic Director Sebastian Ruth; and FirstWorks Executive Artistic Director Kathleen Pletcher, on “A Voice Exclaiming,” Roustom’s composition for an intergenerational cast of musicians, commissioned by CMW and FirstWorks for world premiere this fall by the Kronos Quartet, the Community MusicWorks Players, and CMW students, part of the FirstWorks 2013-14 season. Details here.
Saturday, September 28th – Evening preview performance of ‘A Voice Exclaiming‘ by Community Music Works Chamber Players. Details of the event are here.
Friday, November 1 – Boston Conservatory 8:00 p.m. Free.
An evening of music for eight celli performed by Conservatory students, alums and guests. Featuring works by Saariaho and Bach performed by Rhonda Rider (faculty), Javier Caballero (G.P.D. ’13), Bryan Hayslett (G.P.D. ’13), Jill Chronister (M.M. ’15), Lucian Nicolescu (M.M. ’14) and guest artists David Russell and Sara Wilkins.
Cellist Bryan Hayslett will perform my ‘Hanjale’ for solo cello. Northeast Premiere. Details here.
Monday, November 4 8:00pm – Tufts Composers: In Threes
Distler Performance Hall, Granoff Music Center
Tufts composers works for clarinet, violin, and piano are performed by the Zodiac Trio alongside “Trio 2009” by guest composer Yehudi Wyner, with guest artists Ray Jackendoff, clarinet, and Bryan Hayslett, cello. Also on the program is the USA premiere of Kareem Roustom’s ‘Letters Home’ for clarinet and cello and the Northeast premiere of Roustom’s ‘Hanjale’ for solo cello. Directions are here.
Friday, November 8th – World Premiere of ‘A Voice Exclaiming’ for triple string quartet with Community Music Works and The Kronos Quartet. RISD Auditorium Providence, RI. Details of the program are here and tickets are available here.
Wednesday November 13th 7 p.m. World Premiere of Traces for clarinet, piano and string quartet. With Sally Pinkas – piano, Kinan Azmeh – Clarinet and the Apple Hill String Quartet. Dartmouth College, Hanover NH Details here.
January 18th & 25th 2013 – Apple Hill String quartet concerts featuring Greig, Stravinsky, Schütz and Bernard Herrman’s “North by Northwest Overature” arranged by Kareem Roustom. Details here.
January 19th 2013 – World premiere of “Hanjale” for solo cello by cellist Jason Calloway. January 19, 2013 at 8PM. Harold Golen Gallery. 2294 NW 2nd Ave, Wynwood Art District, Miami FL, 33127. Details here.
Saturday January 12 @ 3:30 p.m. New York Public Library For the Performing Arts: Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center Avoiding exotic and orientalist clichés, this thoughtful program of contemporary classical music from the Arab world and beyond brings together a collection of passionate, eloquent, and bold works reflecting the past yet speaking in the idioms of the present. Composers represented in this performance include Karim Al-Zand, Kinan Azmeh, Halim El-Dabh, Bushra El-Turk, Mohammed Fairouz, Zaid Jabri, and Kareem Roustom, and features soprano Christine Moore and the new music ensemble Lunatics at Large. Details here.
March 3, 2013 – Lehigh University – Allentown, PA
Violinist Timothy Schwarz will lead an ensemble that includes members of the Philadelphia Orchestra in a program featuring “Buhur” and “Abu Jmeel’s Daughter.” Details here.
May 5, 11, 12 & 14 2013 The Son of Man – West Coast Premiere
San Francisco and Santa Clara – “The Son of Man” – The Peninsula Women’s Chours in collaboration with the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus West Coast Premiere by Kareem Roustom.
In our third collaboration, one hundred voices will join in the West Coast premiere of “The Son of Man” by Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom. We present excerpts from this Middle-Eastern-infused, modern-day oratorio set to the poetry of Kahlil Gibran, consisting of reflections on the ministry of Christ. Rounding out the program are reflections on the power of women with Libby Larsen’s “I Just Lightning.” PWC will also present a brand new commission from Frank Ferko, “Alma Submerged,” in this program with something for everyone! Details here.
2012
October 13, 2012 – London. U.K. Howard Williams will lead the Choir of the 21st Century in a concert to benefit the British Red Cross Syria Crisis Appeal. The program will feature Bach, Handel and the U.K. premiere of an excerpt from The Son of Man Oratorio. Details here.
October 26 – 27, 2012 – Lehigh University Choral Arts: The Jewel at the Center of the World- Allentown, PA October 22nd to 28th. Residency and two concerts.
Lehigh Choral Arts explores the unique confluence of Arabic, Christian and Jewish cultures in 9th through15th-century Andalusia. Guest artists include the Arabic takht ensemble Al-Bustan and composer-in-residence Emmy-nominated Kareem Roustom. Steven Sametz, director. Details here.