Performance: Rahim AlHaj, oud

Join master musician Rahim AlHaj for an intimate solo performance on the oud (the grandfather of all stringed instruments). This performance celebrates our exhibition From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic Art: https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/exhibitions/from-the-louvre-masterpieces-of-islamic-art/.

AlHaj and his trio also accompany our screening of The Adventures of Prince Achmed: https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/events/search/event:208192264/.

Rahim AlHaj has performed around the globe and is considered one of the finest oud players in the world. Born in Baghdad, Iraq, he moved to the US as a political refugee in 2000 and later became a US citizen. Since he began playing oud at age nine, he has studied under Munir Bashir (considered by many to be the greatest oud player of the twentieth century) and Salim Abdul Kareem at the Institute of Music in Baghdad, Iraq. AlHaj has won many accolades and awards, including two Grammy nominations and the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship. He has recorded and performed with various master musicians such as genre-busting American guitarist Bill Frisell, Indian sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, and indie-rock pioneers REM. He has composed pieces for solo oud, string quartet, symphony, and beyond. Bio adapted from Avokado Artists.

Image courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways