Omar Bashir (musician)

Biography

Omar Bashir          The Unique Art of Oud virtuoso

Biography 

Omar Bashir Born in 1970 in Hungary to a  Hungarian mother and an Iraqi father. Omar comes from a music dynasty of Oud musicians. His father was the late Ud Maestro Munir Bashir, his uncle was the renowned late Oud Master Jamil Bashir. His late grandfather and several members of ‘Bashir’ dynasty are musicians.  At the age of five, Omar left Hungary with his parents to live in Iraq,  where he  grew up and began his Oud training.  The Oud which accompanies him everywhere in his performances, is the very one that was given to him by his father at the age of  five to begin his classical Oud training by his father. This involved often practising for up to 5–6 hours daily. At the age of seven Omar joined the Baghdad Music and Ballet School where he made his Oud solo debut at the age of nine, performing solo at the Baghdad Conservatory.  In his late teens he became teacher at the Baghdad Music and Ballet school, setting up his own band of 24 musicians specialising in classical Iraqi music.   In 1991 Omar’s parents moved back to Hungary, where Omar  studied piano,  singing and direction of choir at the Liszt Ferenc University, continuing to work and perform alongside his father.   Omar’s debut performing with his father was in 1983 when Omar was thirteen. Seven years on,  Omar was now performing internationally alongside his father until Munir Bashir’s death in 1997.  The death of his father marked a turning point in Omar Bashir’s musical career. His  creative search experimenting and exploring various instruments alongside Oud led to collaborations with many international artists, He was granted the copyright by Gypsy King to perform one of their melodies.  Omar won many recognitions and international awards for his works and musical achievements. He has performed internationally in most prestigious musical halls and together with major international musicians like the Spanish Catalan Viol player and composer Jordi Savall. He was pointed by Quincy Jones to perform in Global Gumbo All Stars project supporting poor children, explaining his choice by saying " Omar Bashir is one of the most important artist and has his very own musical style"  Omar Bashir made various performances for charity. On  the first Anniversary  of the World Trade Centre he was invited by  the US government and The Institute of Arab Music as fundraising performance for the  Iraqi Symphony Orchestra and Iraqi children.   His single hit  “To my mother“ was selected by world famous DJs Claude Challe and Jean Marc Challe in their album “ Select 2010“ and entered top ten chart in various countries.   The album “Arabic Oud“ was nominated as the best musical work in West Asia by the UNESCO and entered Book of the Year of 2013 for preserving heritage.   In 2015 he started experimenting with Dancing Oud where dancers accompanied his musical performance on stage. A gesture that has witnessed before in his field.   Lately Omar Bashir has been chosen by Musical Instrument Museum in Arizona  MIM to have his name and instrumentt displayed beside Elvis Presly and John Lenon as an appreciation for all his musical contribution in the world and Europe in specific.                     

Albums

Omar Bashir released a total of 23 CDs. His album Crazy Oud was released in 2010 by the record company EMI. The sales of this CD has topped the charts in several Arab countries. Below is a listing of all of the albums he has released, in chronological order:

Music from Iraq - 1992

Duet of the Two Bashirs: Munir and Omar - 1994, dubbed by French papers at the time to be the "best musical performance."

From the Euphrates to the Danube - 1997, a mix of oud and Western music. The title of this CD refers to the two rivers generally near where he grew up and where he was born, respectively.

Ashwaq - 1998, a solo oud performance

My Memories - 1998, included the oud and percussion instruments

Flamenco Night - 1998, a recording of the last concert that Omar played with his father, before the latter's death

Al Andalus - 1999, the first-ever combination of oud and guitar, produced by Shahin Production in Lebanon

Zikrayati - 1999. The song, whose title means "my memories," was played using oud and percussion.

Live Solo Oud Performance - 2000, played in Beirut, Lebanon

Sound of Civilizations - 2001, Buddha Bar style of music

To My Father - 2002, used oud and percussion to play and improvise pieces performed together with his father

..Bghdadiyat with Shara Taha 2002

Gypsy Oud - 2003, a combination of oud and Hungarian Gypsy music

Latin Oud - 2004, the first time that Latin tunes were played on the oud

Oud Hawl al Alam ("Oud Around the World") - 2004, played first at a live concert in Budapest, this was the first time that music from the oud and guitar were combined

Crazy Oud - 2010, involves various styles of music, such as Iraqi maqam, rumba, flamenco, blues, ambient, classical, folklore, and improvisation

The Platinum Collection . EMI 2011

Masters of Oud - 2010, duets performed by Munir and Omar Bashir and released by EMI, which created the CD remixes "Baghdad Blues - Desert Launch", "Mesopotamix" and "Café du Paris".

Takasim - 2012, a solo oud recording produced by INEDIT Records

The Legend Live Concert - 2015 Universal Company

Arab countries and America

Lebanon: Almadina Theatre - Beirut, Alhariri Theatre - Sajda – Lebanon Egypt: The Opera House in Cairo and Alexanderia Syria: City Theatre, Mar Elyan Church & The International Festival. Jordan: The Royal Theatre & Jeresh Festival Tunis: Al Mashtal Theatre, Ken Festival Morocco: Fes, Rabat, Casablanca, Marakesh, Tatwan and Aghadir. Oud Duo tour concert: Munir Bashir & Omar as well as solo Oud performances in Mawazin Festival and Oud International Festival. Algeria: National Theatre Palestine: Ramallah Popular art centre UAE: Dubai and Abu Dhabi: Islamic Music Festival and WOMED Festival. Bahrain: 5th Spring Cultural Festival. USA: touredextensivelythroughvarious US states: New York, Washington- Durham, Arcansas, Denver and variousothersatesperforming at variousprestigiousvenueswhich included Cambridge Academy, Lincoln Jazz Theatre, Symphony Space, The Duke University, World Culture Museum, Kennedy Centre. Canada-Montreal: Arab Music Festival ..2008..2015

United States

Omar Bashir has traveled through various states, including New York, Washington, Arkansas, Colorado, and others, performing at venues including the Cambridge Academy, Lincoln Jazz Theater, Symphony Space, Duke University, the World Culture Museum, and the Kennedy Center.

Europe

France- Paris :Cite de la Musique- France, Maison Des Cultures Du Monde, Institute de Monde Arab, Le Rond Point Theatre. Montpellier Festival Arabesques. Lyon: Opera House Hungary: World Music Festival, National Museum,Concert in Memoray of Munir Bashir Budapest. Art Festival-Zemplen, Palace of Arts,Kongress Hall,Vigadó Theatre. MOM Theatre Germany:Berlin,Concert Hall. Switzerland: Besel ,Oud Duet concert. Greece: The Saloniki Oud International Festival and various other venues. Athena Iraqi Embassy Cultural Week The Netherlands - Den Haag- Music Academy,Amsterdam Liteside Festival. Spain :Quincy Jones Global Gumbo/Peralada International Festival. England : Radio 3 Special- The Proms –London Royal Albert Hall . Belgium-Brussels: World Music Festival . Gent Music Festival. Antwerp-Amuz Church and Bozar Turkey: Istanbul:Culture Theatre and Yorgo 1st Oud Festival. Serbia : Iraqi Cultural week in Belgrade, 2011, 2013, 2014 Georgia : Rose Peace Festival Sweden: Stockholm, Goteborg, Malmo

Tour with Jordi Savall Jerusalem, Peace in heaven and on Earth : Canada, Germany, USA, Finland, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, Spain,Sweden, Norway, Italy, UK, Austria.

Awards and honours

Omar Bashir has received various awards for his contributions to music. He received a medal from the Arab Music Group, which is affiliated to the Arab League. He also received a Peace Prize from Belgium Media for his collaboration with the Catalan Viol player and composer Jordi Savall. In addition, he has received a medal from the Southern Culture Center in Lebanon, and a medal from the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Georgio Abu Zakham, during the fourth anniversary of the Mar Elyan festival.

Bashir also holds various certificates of appreciation from several organizations due to his singing at various places or events. These include a Certificate of Appreciation from the United Nations for his contribution to one of its celebrations, five certificates from The Opera House in Egypt for his contributions to the Arab Music Festival, and a certificate of appreciation for his contribution to the International Festival Exhibition in Syria.