Ali Omar El-Farouk is an Egyptian/Canadian guitarist and oud player based out of Montreal and Cairo. He is an active performer, teacher and composer with a professional career spanning more than two and a half decades which includes performances in Egypt, Canada, U.S.A., Turkey, Spain, Italy, Thailand, and cruise ships touring the Bahamas and the British Isles. His versatile musical vocabulary is a result of his privileged exposure to both eastern and western cultures. He spent years studying jazz music, traditional Arabic/Middle-Eastern music, flamenco music, and western classical music.
He has worked in jazz groups, rock/blues/pop bands, all the way to Middle Eastern and flamenco ensembles. His performances include the Festival Du Monde Arabe, Festival Nuits D’Afrique, Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques Festival, and Festival Sefarad in Montreal, the Feria del Libro Festival in Spain, as well as the Manial Palace Festival, the Jazz Mania Festival, and the Cairo Jazz Festival in Cairo.
His first album ‘Ela Mataa?’ was recorded in Montreal and released in 2019. He holds a Licentiate degree in Jazz Performance from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, one of Canada’s top music institutes, and a Bachelor’s degree with Distinction in Jazz Studies from Concordia University in Montreal. He is as passionate about performing live as he as about teaching music and he teaches music at his own studio and online.
He was the 2022 recipient of the ’Friends of Manial Palace Museum Association’ award in Egypt, which was presented to him by His Highness Prince Abbas Hilmi and the great classical pianist maestro Ramzi Yassa.
Join us on August 8 at Kawalees for an intimate live performance of Bil Afrah, the iconic album created by Ziad Rahbani, featuring a selection of his music alongside works by other composers.
Doors open at 8:00 PM.
Tickets are available at the door or via the link below
Nai: Aymen Trabelsi Violin: Jana Nofal Oud: Ali Omar El-Farouk Qanun: Nizar Ttabcharani Guitar: Nazeer Salameh Riq: Nathaniel Huard