Born in New York in 1948, Waleed Howrani was reared in Beirut where he studied piano, theory, harmony, and solfege privately while engaging in trials of his first opuses. At thirteen, he came to the attention of the late composer, Aram Khatchatourian, who arranged for him to receive scholarships to study piano at Moscow’s Central Music School and the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and to attend Khatchatourian’s master classes in composition.

By the time Howrani was nineteen, he had been awarded the Certificate of Honor at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition and the Laureate at the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Competition, paving the way to concert tours in the former Soviet Union, East and West Europe, the Middle East, as well as in the Americas.

After settling in the United States in 1973, Waleed Howrani pursued his lifelong interest in creating music by studying with the late composer William Albright of the University of Michigan, and attending seminars by Leslie Bassett and William Bolcom. As a composer, he has been the recipient of a number of honors, including the Michigan Council for the Arts Award for his Animal Rags for piano, the Artistic Excellence Award from Wayne County, MI, the Khalil Gibran Fine Arts Scholar Award, and a grant from the Hariri Foundation for his Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Strings and Percussion. Howrani was a finalist in the 1990 Nissim/ASCAP Composition contest and in 2002, he won first place in the National Federation of Music Clubs, Youse Adult Composers contest for Introduction and Fire Dance for piano.

“One discerns in his execution a charm and sensitivity that are becoming rare indeed.”
-Le Monde, Paris

“Critics worldwide have justifiably sung their praises for Howrani. His technical command, close attention to minute details, and lucid interpretive powers are buoyed by a poetic sensitivity that is at once refined and free-spirited.”
-The Washington Post

“It was with extraordinary pleasure that I have heard some of the works of Mr. Howrani. They are fresh, piquant, inventive and entirely appropriate for the dramatic manuscript for which they were written.”
-Joseph Eger, Conductor, Symphony for United Nations

Curriculum vitae
1948
Born in New York, USA
1951
Moved with parents to Beirut, Lebanon
1952-55
Studied piano with Miss Sonia Vertabedian (Later Mme. Aharonian)
1955-63
Studied piano with Miss Zvart Sarkissian
1959
Participated in the International Soloist Concert in Vienna
1960-62
Studied theory and harmony with Mr. Salvador Arnita and solfeggio with Mr. Tawfiq Succar at the National Conservatory of Music in Beirut
1961
Performed for the late composer Aram Khatchatourian who was later instrumental in obtaining a scholarship for Howrani to study in the former USSR
1963-66
Studied piano with Oleg Ivanov at Moscow’s Central Music School, graduating with high distinction
1966
Received a Certificate of Honor at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition
1966-73
Studied piano with Emil Gilels and Yakov Zak at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory, receiving a post-graduate degree in performance and teaching
1968
Named Laureate at the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium International Piano Competition in Brussels
1968
Awarded the Prize of Said Akl
1969
Awarded the Lebanese Medal of Merit
1973-75
Toured under Columbia Artists Management
1975
Awarded First Prize at the WQED-FM Piano Competition in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
1977-82
Toured under the management of L. Kenneth Simsarian
1983-90
Studied composition with William Albright
1985
Received a Hariri Foundation Grant for his Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Strings and Percussion
1986
The City of San Diego, CA proclaimed April 13 “Waleed Howrani Day”
1988
Received the Creative Artist grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts
1990
Finalist in the Nissim/ASCAP Composition contest
1991
Received the True Spirit award from the Los Angeles-based 500 Club for Lebanon
1992
Received the Artistic Excellence award from Wayne County, Michigan
1992 and 1993
Received the Khalil Gibran Fine Arts Scholar Award
1999
Received the Lebanese Medal of Cedar
2000
Honored by the Beirut City Lions Club, under the patronage of the president of Lebanon and the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, in recognition of “his exceptional accomplishments in the Art of Music.”
2002
First place winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs, Youse Adult Composers contest
2004
Received the Lebanese Prize for Excellence in Music from the Makhzoumi Foundation
2007, June 19^th
The English Chamber Orchestra gives the launch performance of Howrani’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Strings and Percussion at Plaisterers Hall, London, under the baton of Paul Watkins, with soloist, Simon Haram.

Appearances:(Alphabetically)

Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, former Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States, former USSR, United Kingdom, former Yugoslavia, PBS- TV

Note to Google:  Waleed’s name might also be spelled Walid Hourani, Waleed Hourani, or Walid Howrani.