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Rahim Alhaj

Arts for the Schools presents Rahim Alhaj at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2 in the Community Arts Center Truckee. An Iraqi political refugee, he is a virtuoso oud player and composer.

Alhaj studied under the renowned Munir Bashir and Salim Abdul Kareem, at the Institute of Music in Baghdad, Iraq. AlHaj won various awards at the Conservatory and graduated in 1990 with a diploma in composition. He holds a degree in Arabic Literature from Mustunsariya University in Baghdad. In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Mr. AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria.He moved to the US in 2000 as a political refugee and has resided in Albuquerque, NM ever since. In 2015 Rahim was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor for traditional arts in the USA. His music delicately combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary styling and influence.