Draft:Hanna Khuri

Dr. Hanna Khuri is a violin virtuoso who comes from a musical family. He started his violin studies with Mr. Victor Yaacov at the local conservatory in Tarshiha. At age 10, he was invited by Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky (Royal College of Music) to join Keshet Eilon International String Mastercourse. At Keshet Eilon, Khuri was introduced to distinguished violin professors and performers with whom he studied, most notably: Ms. Osnat Yehieli, Professor Arthur Zisserman (Tel-Aviv University,) Professor Hagai Shaham (Tel-Aviv University), Professor Ani Schnarch (Royal College of Music), and Professor Haim Taub. He also attended workshops and masterclasses with violin virtuoso Shlomo Mintz and other esteemed faculty of Keshet Eilon. He continued his studies with Moti Schmitt at Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance (JAMD), where he appeared as a soloist with the university orchestra. In his late teens, Khuri joined the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. A protege of Daniel Barenboim and Edwards Said, Khuri was offered a scholarship to pursue violin studies with Professor Mark Kaplan at UCLA. For fourteen years he toured with the Divan while studying closely with Maestro Daniel Barenboim and members of Staatskapelle Berlin. He pursued graduate studies with Professor Helen Kwalwasser at Temple University. While at Temple, he studied orchestral excerpts with musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra: viola with Professor Choong-Jin (C.J.) Chang and Professor Che-Hung Chen, and violin with Professor Luis Biava. In addition to Western classical music, Dr. Khuri is a specialist on Arab music. At this capacity, he performed with illustrious ensembles and musicians including firqat Tarshiha and composer and UNESCO Artist for Peace Marcel Khalife. Dr. Khuri currently serves as a violin faculty at Penn’s Blutt College House Music Program, and directs the Penn Arab Music Ensemble Workshops. Dr. Khuri holds performance degrees from UCLA and Temple University, an Economics Degree from UCLA, and a PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Pennsylvania.