Marcel Khalife

He is married to Yolla Khalife, a singer and songwriter. The couple has two sons: Rami Khalife and Bachar Khalife, both of whom are talented composers

He was born on June 10, 1950, in Amchit, a small coastal village north of Beirut. When he was 16 years old, he lost his mother due of cancer.

He received his first lessons in music from Hanna Karam, a retired military man in the village who saw through his talent and advised his parents to support Marcel in pursuing a career in music.

He attended the National Academy of Music in Beirut where he started studying the oud, a pear-shaped stringed instrument, and later contributed towards exploring the potentials of the oud.

Between 1970 and 1975, he served as a teacher at the conservatory in Beirut and also worked at several other local institutions. Simultaneously, he toured the Middle East, North Africa, Europe as well as the United States and gave solo performances on the oud.

In 1972, he established a musical group in his native village with the objective of reviving its musical legacy and Arabic choral singing. The group delivered its early performances in Lebanon during the 1975 Lebanese civil war.

In 1976, he founded the ‘Al Mayadeen Ensemble’ band and subsequently performed at numerous festivals and concerts around the world. Accompanied by his musical ensemble, he conducted musical shows in Arab countries, Europe, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Japan.

Over the years, his lyrical and instrumental recordings were released through many musical albums. These include: ‘Promises of the Storm’ (1976), ‘Rain Songs’ (1977), ‘Where from, do I Enter the Homeland?’ (1978), ‘Weddings’ (1979), ‘At the Borders’ (1979), ‘Stripped Bare’ (1980), ‘Happiness’ (1981), ‘The Bridge’ (1983).

Some of his later releases were: ‘Dreamy Sunrise’ (1984), ‘Ahmad Al Arabi’ (1984), ‘Peace Be With you’ (1989), ‘Ode To A Homeland’ (1990), ‘Arabic Coffeepot’ (1995), ‘Jadal Oud Duo’ (1996), ‘Magic Carpet’ (1998), ‘Concerto Al Andalus’ (2002), ‘Caress’ (2004), and ‘Taqasim’ (2007).

The popularity of his band ‘Al Mayadeen Ensemble’ went well beyond Lebanon and its music was enthusiastically welcomed by the audiences around the world. Some of the band’s most performed songs were ‘Umi’ (My Mother), ‘Rita w'al-Bundaqiya’ (Rita and the Rifle), and ‘Jawaz al-Safr’ (Passport), based on Darwish's poetry.