Lebanese Marcel Khalife (°1950) is a household name in the Arabic world. Not only is he one of the most famous ud performers in the world, as a composer he has been working for decades to renew the Arabic song and break through the stereotypes. He has been doing so now for more than 20 albums (and 6 books) for a long time.

Playing ud is not easy; the forefather of the guitar has 11 strings, a short neck and no frets. It requires intensive training to control this instrument. Traditionally, oed playing is also bound by strict rules and techniques. That is precisely what makes Khalife such a great figure: he combines willpower and expertise in a unique way to move beacons from this perspective.

Marcel Khalife conceives and makes original music, a new world of sounds, freed from all predetermined rules. This language elevates him to the level of an ambassador of his own culture and to the avant-garde of Arabic music.
For example, Khalife attaches great importance to the coherence between text and music: he collaborated with great contemporary Arab poets, especially the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.

As an example of a progressive force in a traditional environment, Khalife became a source of inspiration for progressive voices and a precursor to the Arab Spring. He also regularly collided with conservative-religious forces in his native country because of his work.
Khalife performed in the most prestigious venues in the East and West: from the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and the Scala in Milan, to Cairo Opera House and the UNESCO Palace of Beiroet.

This concert is part of UNDER_CONSTRUCTION  and of the campaign 'Gent 2014-18, strijd mee voor vrede'.