I’m thrilled to announce the beginning of a publishing relationship with ECS publishing. The first work to be published is “Hot Tea, Mint and Olives” (S.S.A. and piano) with poetry by Ibtisiam Barakaat. My new home at ECS is here. You can hear audio of “Hot Tea, Mint and Olives,” as performed by the Boston… read more
“The Iran Job” to premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival 6/15/2012
“The Iran Job” is a new documentary by director Till Schauder and it tells the story of American pro basketball player Kevin Sheppard, who signed on to play for the upstart Iranian Super League team A.S. Shiraz as one of two non-Iranian players. Basketball, a decidedly American sport, is huge in Iran! Excerpts of my… read more
Coro Allegro wins ASCAP/Alice Parker Award for The Son of Man Premiere 6/15/2012
The 2012 Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award award goes to Coro Allegro, an adult volunteer ensemble in Boston led by David Hodgkins. The ensemble collaborated in a world premiere by Kareem Roustom that expanded the singers’ musical world as well as exposing their audience to a brand new compositional voice. Details about the award here.… read more
“My Neighbourhood” European Premeires
Julia Bacha’s eloquent and powerful documentary “My Neighbourhood” will premiered at Tribeca this April and a slate of European screening are lined up for this Summer. Details here. Excerpts from my music for “My Neighborhood” can be heard here.
Nearer to East: Contemporary Chamber Music from The Arab World and Beyond
“Nearer to East: Contemporary Music from the Arab World and Beyond” Featuring the NY city based Ensemble Lunatics At Large. Please join me for this very cool line up of composers in Boston on February 11th. Works by Mohammed Fairouz, Zaid Jabri, Karim Al-Zand, Bushra El-Turk, Kinan Azmeh, and yours truly. Tufts campus, at the… read more
The Music of Kareem Roustom: Concert in Philadelphia February 25, 2012
Please join me on Saturday February 25th for the USA premiere of my new work “Abu Jameel’s Daughter.” Co-commissioned by Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture and the France based Alba Ensemble, “Abu Jameel’s Daughter” is work for narrator and chamber group based on an old Arab folk tale. A foolish young prince, a girl who dreams… read more
New Film & Theater Projects Completed (2011)
The past few months saw the completion of music for two documentary films and incidental music. You can excerpts from my score to Julia Bacha’s film “My Neighborhood”, incidental music to “Arabian Nights”, and “The Iran Job.”
The Boston Globe Reviews “The Son of Man”
The Boston Globe reviewed the May 15th performance of my oratorio “The Son of Man.” “The music… is pitched toward the impassioned, adapting Arabic-derived scales into a rich, heavily perfumed chromaticism, affording both eerie atmosphere and high-impact drama. Moment to moment, [Roustom’s] invention is prolific.” Read the full article here.
The Boston Music Intelligencer reviews “The Son of Man” premiere
“Roustom’s six settings of poems by Kahlil Gibran from his collection of poetry, Jesus, the Son of Man, are supremely dramatic” Boston Music Intelligencer The Boston Music Intelligencer reviews the premiere of “The Son of Man.” The next performance will take place on May 15th at 3 p.m. at the Church of the Covenant in Boston,… read more
Budrus score released online
My score for Julia Bacha’s excellent and award-winning documentary Budrus is now available online.