TPFF PRESENTS: FARAJ SULEIMAN LIVE IN TORONTO
For the first time in Canada, internationally-acclaimed Palestinian composer Faraj Suleiman and his band will perform hits from “Better than Berlin” and his latest album “Upright Biano”, with lyrics written by Majd Kayyal, composed and sung by Suleiman — melodies and stories of Palestinian strangled dreams in the city of Haifa, musical images of love, frustration, and migration, in the shadow of colonialism and gentrification.
TPFF is pleased to announce that we have received a " Music Production and Presentation Projects Grant" from the Ontario Arts Council for the Faraj Suleiman Live in Toronto concert.
The grant has made it possible to bring a major Palestinian Artist to Canada for the first time and to assemble a backing group of ten Ontario based musicians to support Faraj’s performance.
We would like to thank the Ontario Arts Council and the government of Ontario for this grant.
“These are songs of nostalgia to a city we have never left, songs about getting lost in streets we know by heart”.
Faraj’s music is strongly influenced by Arabic/Eastern melodies and rhythms. He often incorporates those scales and modalities in his compositions. In addition to being inspired by his Arabic culture, he is also influenced by Jazz traditions. As an Arab musician/pianist trained in classical music, he constantly searches for new forms of expression to equally appeal to his "Eastern" and "Western" listeners.
To date, Faraj has released a number of albums and musical projects such as : "Login", "Three Steps", "Mud", "Opening of the Palestinian Museum", "Al-Bashiq", "Love in the Cloud", "Once Upon a City”, "Love Without a Story”, “Toy Box” and his first songs album “Second Verse”, the recording of "London Jazz Festival 2019", "Better than Berlin"(Songs album), "Faheem" - a songs album for children, and lately "Upright Biano"(Songs album).
He also composed music for theatre and award-winning films, including Ameen Nayfeh’s "200 Meters", and most recently ""Alam" by Feras Khoury.
Keep up with FARAJ SULEIMAN
farajsuleiman.com Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Spotify
Singers / Choir
Illarra Riyad
Illarra Riyad is a Toronto based singer who’s deeply invested in the beauty of the Classical Arabic music and the soulfulness of the Sufi music. A choir member at the Canadian Arabic Orchestra and a founder of Hikaya Project, an ensemble dedicated for his passion for the rich heritage of the classics and the long tradition of the sufis. Illara has been a part of multiple shows and concerts as a singer from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwiat, to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver.
Jana Salameh
Jana is Lebanese singer and musician based in Ottawa, breathing fresh life into Arabic music through the lens of her experience as a Lebanese expat in Canada. Jana's musical voyage set sail during her formative years at the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music, yet it was her relentless passion for music that saw her co-founding Entropy Entertainment in Ottawa, blending the mystique of Middle Eastern melodies with the groove of Western rhythms. With her ethereal voice and magnetic presence, Jana has taken centre stage in a multitude of national and international performances and collaborative endeavours, enchanting audiences in Canada and Lebanon.
Leen Hamo
Leen is a newcomer artist from Syria. Over the past five years, music provided her with a safe space and strength. Singing gave her the power she needed to express her identity and to connect to her soul, home and family she left behind.
Leen started her music education at the age of 8 at the Arabic institute of Aleppo.
After arriving to Canada, her passion for classical Arabic led her to collaborate with different artists to present her music to the Canadian audience.
Leen has been performing with Canadian Arabic Orchestra since 2017.
She collaborated with Sultans of string and was featured in their recent album Refuge.
Her last project “Kazdoura”, serves up Arabic fusion with a modern twist. their style is a cross-cultural blend of Eastern and Western music.
Leen has received a newcomer artist award from Toronto art foundation in 2019. She was invited to perform at many festivals in Toronto and Montreal such as Mixto, Orientalys, Small World fest, Agha khan summer festival and others.
Musicians
Kyle Pogline (Trumpet)
Kyle Pogline is a two time Juno Award winning trumpet player based in Toronto, ON.
Andrew Marzotto (Electric Guitar)
Andrew Marzotto is a Toronto born and based Guitarist, Composer and Educator. He maintains a busy schedule performing around Toronto and teaching at Humber College.
Marta Sołek (cello)
Marta Solek is a multi-instrumentalist from Poland,she graduated with the 2 Master Degrees from the Krakow Academy of Music, specialising in both cello and Polish/World knee fiddles, and is the first musician in the world to hold a master degree in traditional instruments from XVII Century: Suka from Bilgoray and Plock fiddle. She has performed all over the world with classical orchestras, jazz, pop, rock and world music bands, and has recorded 14 CD’s, music for TV shows, games and theatre and is the winner of several awards and grants including the Fryderyk Award (Polish "Juno' Award).
Sanah Kadoura (Drummer)
JUNO Award-nominated Lebanese-Canadian drummer, composer, educator, and producer Sanah Kadoura’s music traverses the modern jazz idiom with hints of neo-soul and a strong musical influence from her motherland of Lebanon.
“Kadoura is a dexterous improviser, with a light, elastic approach that evokes Tony Williams, a major influence.” (JazzTimes)
“Sanah Kadoura’s latest album Duality decisively signals her arrival as a bandleader of command, clarity and serious composerly chops.” (Downbeat)
Aysel Taghi-Zada (Violin)
Aysel Taghi-Zada is a passionate violinist dedicated to the performance of classical and contemporary music. She has collaborated with distinguished composers and performers such as Philip Glass, Salvatore Sciarrino, Gidon Kremer, and she has been invited to perform as part of several ensembles such as Tapestry Opera, Thin Edge New Music Collective, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Canadian Opera Company.
Andrew Stewart (Bass Guitar)
Born in Toronto to Jamaican immigrants, Andrew Stewart has become an
integral part of Canada’s emerging new school jazz and world music scenes. Andrew’s is a sound that reimagines the Caribbean
Jazz tradition through a North American urban sensibility. This sound is
generated through the beautiful custom bass guitars that Andrew
himself handcrafts
In Collaboration with
Co-presented by
