Lebanese composer, singer and musician, Charbel Rouhana is one of the few masters who shaped the Arab lute and its techniques. In 1990 he won the first prize of the Hirayama Competition in Japan for Best Composition entitled "Hymn of Peace", in the year 2000 he won the “Murex d’Or” as the Musician of the year, in 2007 he conducted and arranged the BBC3 World Music Awards winning Album of 2007 “ Al Muwashahat” and in 2011 he has been selected to participate in the Babel Med musical forum. Rouhana has composed various compositions for the famous dance group “Caracalla” and has performed with Marcel Khalife in various concerts and tours.
He has also accompanied Fairuz, Magida El Roumi, Julia Boutros, Hariprasad Chaurasia in numerous performances. In 2007 he formed the Beirut Oriental Ensemble.Charbel Rouhana established a new method in playing the oud. This method was published in seven volumes and was adopted by the National Conservatory of Music in Lebanon and the Faculty of Music in the Holy Spirit University, where he has been teaching since 1986.
The reputation of Charbel Rouhana and his international performances made him an ambassador for Lebanese and Middle Eastern music: Festival Francophonies métissées (Paris, 2001), Oud Festival (Tetwan, Morocco, 2000), Festival Novart (Bordeaux, France, 2003), Concert with Satoru Shionoya Unit (Tokyo, 2004), World Expo 2010 (China), Jazz Festival (Dubaï, 2010), International Beirut Jazz Festival (Beirut, 2010). Charbel Rouhana’s style is not restricted to his oriental roots, he offers to his international audience concerts with various colors, combining creativity and erudition, rich in harmonies and open to improvisation.
In 2013, He is showcased with the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra. He then composed “Trait D’Union”, music for the Oud and performs it in the Beiteddine Music Festival in Lebanon with the Romanian Philharmonic Orchestra “Timisoara”. In 2012, he performs with the Symphonic Orchestra “Arad”, and records Abdallah Masri’s ”Concerto for Oud” with the Symphonic Orchestra of Moscow conducted by Valery Poliansky. He also performed with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, with conductor Thomas Kalb.
