Sonia M'barek (, also spelled Sonia Mbarek, 1969– ) is a Tunisian singer of classical
Arabic music
Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...
and related genres. She was Minister of Culture from January to August 2016.
Early life
M'barek was born in
Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterrane ...
, Tunisia. At age nine, she sang traditional
Tunisian music
Tunisia is a North African country with a predominantly Arabic-speaking population. The country is best known for malouf, a kind of music imported from Andalusia after the Spanish immigration in the 15th century. Though in its modern form, malou ...
(''malouf'') with the Municipal Theatre of Tunis, under the direction of Tahar Gharsa. At 12, she made her first television appearance, interpreting "Ahkili aliha ya baba", a children's song composed by and performed with Adnène Chaouachi. The success of this song thrust M'barek into the artistic domain.
Education
A student at the National Conservatory of Music at Tunis, she received a degree in
Arabic music
Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...
in 1986, and in 1987, with composer Rachid Yeddes, received the prize for the best song at the Festival de la Chanson Tunisienne (for "Khali el hozn baîd alik"). In 1990, she realized a project inspired by world music, entitled "Musiques sans frontières" ("Music without borders"), which she presented at the Festival International d'Hammamet.
Career
In 1992, M'barek released her first album, ''Liberté''. Between 1993 and 1993, she worked successfully with the
oud
, image=File:oud2.jpg
, image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921
, background=
, classification=
* String instruments
*Necked bowl lutes
, hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum
, ...
player
Ali Sriti Ali Sriti () (b. 1919 in Tunis–d. 5 April 2007) was a Tunisian oudist, composer, and music teacher.
Biography
He learned music at a young age from his father, who encouraged him to listen to classical Arabic music including Egyptians Sayed D ...
and his student
Anouar Brahem
Anouar Brahem ( أنور براهم); born on 20 October 1957) is a Tunisian oud player and composer. He is widely acclaimed as an innovator in his field. Performing primarily for a jazz audience, he combines Arabic classical music, folk music and ...
, with whom she gave over 30 concerts classical music concerts, which were released on an album called ''Tarab''. In 1997, she released her second solo album, ''Tawchih'', followed in 1999 with ''Takht'', which was distributed throughout Europe, the United States, and Japan by World Network, a German record label. That same year, she gave a concert in Paris, at Café de la Danse, for the Festival Les Belles Nuits du Ramadan.
In 2000, she performed at the
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in Washington, DC, during the National African Summit, and during a tour of the francophone world, she also gave a concert at the United Nations in New York City (Dag-Hammarskjöld Auditorium), and participated in the festival Voix de femmes in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, celebrating the opening of the Halles de Schaerbeek. M'barek then released the albums ''Tir el Minyiar'' in 2003 and ''Romances'' in 2004.
Between 2005 and 2008, M'barek was the first woman to act as director of the Festival de la Chanson Tunisienne, which is organized by the Tunisian
Minister of Culture
A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...
. She has been a member of l'Association des Etudes Internationales since 1995, a member of the executive office of