Lebanese composer and music theorist Sami Seif has been praised as “a distinctive compositional voice” who creates “intoxicating and fascinating soundworld(s)” (Pan Journal, British Flute Society). Described as “very tasteful and flavorful” with “beautiful, sensitive writing!” (Webster University) his music is inspired by the aesthetics, philosophies, paradigms, and poetry of his Middle-Eastern heritage. His latest musical concerns center around the phenomenology of time and of differing degrees of focus.
An enthusiastic collaborator, Seif’s music has been performed by such renowned artists as Mary Kay Fink and Stanley Konopka of The Cleveland Orchestra, and has been recognized internationally by a number of institutions such as ASCAP, SOCAN, the RED NOTE New Music Festival, the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York, and the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, among others.
Originally from the small town of Ashkout in Mount Lebanon, he started out at the age of twelve as a self-taught musician, composing and playing on Arabic, microtonal keyboards. Not having had access to formal music education, Seif taught himself how to read and write music by reading theory textbooks. He is currently a doctoral fellow in composition at the CUNY Graduate Center.
At MacDowell, Seif developed two new compositions: D’ekhlet Faghrokh, a choral work based on sacred text; and Can a Canaanite Put a Qanun in a Canon?, a fixed-media surround piece. Recent and upcoming premieres and recordings include performances by members of major orchestras, including the The Cleveland Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Portrait by Niles Singer
