March 21, 2015 8:00 PM Lebanese Vocalist OUMEIMA EL KHALIL and Puerto Rican Percussionist ROLANDO MORALES-MATOS in Concert with AL-BUSTAN TAKHT ENSEMBLE.

Al-Bustan Music is pleased to begin the 2015 Spring Season with Arab and Latin Music featuring Lebanese vocalist OUMEIMA EL KHALIL and Puerto Rican percussionist ROLANDO MORALES-MATOS in concert with AL-BUSTAN TAKHT ENSEMBLE.
Saturday March 21 8:00pm
Trinity Center for Urban Life
22nd and Spruce Street, Philadelphia

Tickets $15-$25.
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rolando Morales-Matos began his musical studies at the prestigious performing-arts high school Escuela Libre de Música. He received his B.F.A. in music from Carnegie Mellon University, his M.A. from Duquesne University, and a Certificate of Professional Studies from Temple University. He is a percussionist and assistant conductor with Disney’s Lion King and performs and records regularly in New York City with various Latin jazz groups and chamber orchestras. He has recorded soundtracks for the films Failure to Launch and The Pink Panther and appears playing onscreen in the Disney movie Enchanted. Rolando is a member of Ron Carter Foursight Jazz Quartet and is an extra percussionist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His career has taken him all over the world, from Spain to New Zealand, where he has held principal timpani and percussion positions with state orchestras. He is the recipient of the 2006 Drum Magazine world beat percussionist-of-the-year award. Rolando also teaches at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, and joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2001.

Oumeima El Khalil is a Lebanese singer who has performed across the world for decades, sharing her passion for music with a diverse fan base. Oumeima began singing at the age of 7, and toured the US with the legendary Marcel Khalife as a teenager. Oumeima continues to collaborate with Marcel Khalife on several of his albums and began her solo career in 1994 with the breakthrough record, “Khallini Ghannilak”. Her songs are written by renowned Arab poets such as Mahmoud Darwish, Badr Shakir El Sayyab, Mohamad El Abdallah. Oumeima is a devoted wife and mother and works with her husband, the musician Hani Siblini, recording and touring the world. She released her 4th solo album, “Zaman”, in spring 2013. Her 5th Album “Matar,”a classical endeavor composed By Abdallah El Masri, recorded with The State Symphony Cappella of Russia (conducted by Valery Polyansky), was released on March 2014.