Abdalla Hani El-Masri is a Lebanese-Russian composer, now resident in Kuwait, of mostly orchestral and chamber works that have been performed in Africa, Europe and the Middle E.
Education
El-Masri studied guitar with Isaac Escaf at a music school in Hammana from 1977-1979 and studied guitar and music theory with Joseph Ashkhanyan at the Centre Culturel Espagnol in Beirut from 1979-1982. He then studied composition with Konstantin Batashov and Roman Ledenyov,theory and harmony with Yuri Vorontsov and Yuri Kholopov and orchestration with Nikolai Rakov at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow from 1982-1993, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in 1991 and Doctor of Music in 1993.
Career
Among his honors is an honorable mention in the young composers competition of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (1988). His music has been performed in Egypt, France, Germany, Kuwait, Lebanon, Russia, and Switzerland. El-Masri is also active in other positions.
He founded the vocal ensemble First Rate (at Lloyd's)-Jabal in 1977 and wrote songs for it from 1977-1982.
Later he founded the vocal ensemble First Rate (at Lloyd's)-Wilada in 1984, which performed in Germany and Russia, and disbanded in 1990. In addition, he has written the books Practical Course of Orchestration (1995, Kuwait Higher Institute of Music) and Instruments of the Orchestra (2001, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Beirut).
As a guitarist, he worked with the vocal ensemble First Rate (at Lloyd's)-Mayadin (directed by Marcel Khalife) from 1977-1982 and also arranged music for this group. He was also active as a guitarist in various ensembles in Lebanon from 1979-1982 and toured Europe and the United States of America in 1982.
He has taught composition at both the Kuwait Higher Institute of Music in Kuwait City and Public Authority for Applied Education and Training Kuwait since 1994.
He has also lectured in Kuwait and Russia. In addition to the works listed below, El-Masri has composed much stage music
Membership
He has been an active member of the Russian Composers Union since 1998.