Akram Abdulfattah is a young Palestinian-American violinist, music composer and producer. Akram’s talent received national and international recognition as he formed the youngest Palestinian musical quartet, won prestigious awards and engaged in various international and cross-culture projects, most significantly the Marcel Khalifa Competition, and the National Music Competition for Ensembles. Akram Abdulfattah is a Palestinian-American violinist, music composer and producer. Akram’s talent received national and international recognition as he formed the youngest Palestinian musical quartet, and won prestigious awards, most remarkably the Marcel Khalifa Competition (2008 and 2009), the National Music Competition for Ensembles (2012), and the Palestinian “On Stage” Competition for Ensembles (2012). Akram firmly believes that music can serve as a tool to reduce alienation and bring people together despite their differences. He views the mutual influence of cultures through ongoing interactions as imperative for the continued development of music. His vision is to use instrumental music as a tool to introduce the world to the Palestinian rich culture, legacy, and folklore.
Akram was born on 3 November 1990 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 1995, Akram’s parents, Mohammed and Nigmah, decided to move back to their hometown Kawkab Abu El-Hija in the Northern Galilee, Palestine and reconnect with their family. Akram’s move to Kawkab Abu El-Hija was accompanied with a mixture of feelings; the struggles to adapt to a new environment and a fascination by the traditional Palestinian lifestyle and culture. Living the Northern Galilee, Akram found great pleasure in exploring the rich nature of rural Kawkab Abu El-Hija and he cherished the newfound sense of family and warmth that surrounded him. Akram’s talent received an official recognition for the first time as he won second place in the Marcel Khalifa competition in 2006. In 2008, Akram graduated with excellence from Beit Al-Musica Conservatory at the age of 18, and was quickly recruited to teach violin at the same conservatory after he received the first prize in the Marcel Khalifa competition. Between 2009 and 2013, Akram have had played in almost all of the major Palestinian music projects and participated in several international concerts. He collaborated with respected musicians like Simon Shaheen, Bassam Saba, Kamil Shajrawu, Yousef Hbeich, and performed with singers and pop artists from Palestine and from the Arab world including Mohammed Assaf, Dalal Abu Amny, Nai Barghouthi, Sanaa Mousa, Asalah Nasri, Elham Madfa’e, and Hani Mitwasi. During these years, Akram participated in multiple prestigious international festivals and events in Sweden, North Africa, USA, Lebanon, Arab Gulf, and collaborated with several pop artists on instrumental projects. This eventful period of Akram’s career culminated in touring with Mohammed Assaf as a violin soloist (2013-2015), during which he also composed and recorded Awan’s first album
In 2016 Akram decided to take a break from the pop and classical music in order to focus fully on achieving his goal of transforming music to a universal language of love, peace, and justice. As an independent artist, he had to overcome several challenges inherent in an underdeveloped Palestinian instrumental music field that lacked resources and infrastructure. In the same year Akram composed and recorded Jawa; his first fusion album in collaboration with musicians from Sweden and Palestine, introducing an elegant mixture of Pop, Jazz, and modern and classic Arabic music.Inspired by his love for the Carnatic violinist L. Shankar, Akram made a journey to the far East in 2018 to further refine his music style and combine elements of the Indian music in the Arabic music. This journey led to Akram collaborating with various international artists including Sukkanya Ramgopal, Ambi Subramaniam, Joy Sarkar (India West Bengal) HK Vankatram (India) Omar Faruk Tekbilek (Turkey), and Brian Kean (USA). In the same year, Akram formed the Monologue Music Ensemble with musicians from India, Sweden, and USA, and produced his second cross-cultural album. In 2019, Akram formed the Sirat Trio; an Indo-Arab Instrumental trio in collaboration with Mandola Joy and Rupak Dhamankar
Tour Dates
24th May Richmix https://richmix.org.uk/events/akram-abdulfattah/
25th May Liverpool Philharmonic (Music Room) https://www.liverpoolphil.com/whats-on/all-shows/akram-abdulfattah/5550
26th May Glasgow The hug and pint https://www.thehugandpint.com/ev
ents/2023-05-26-the-hug-and-pint
27th May Knockengorroch Fest https://www.knockengorroch.org.uk/information/
28th May The Met(Bury) https://themet.org.uk/event/akram-abdulfattah/
Web site: https://akramabdulfattah.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akramvio/?hl=en
