Anis Fuleihan

April 2 1900 - October 11 1970 Fuleihan Was A Cypriot-Born American Composer Conductor And Pianist. A Native Of Kyrenia Fuleihan Belongs To An Arab Christian Lebanese Family He Attended The English School In That Town Before Coming To The United States In 1915. He Settled In New York City Taking Further Piano Lessons With Alberto Jonas He Also Taught Himself Composition At This Time. He Became A Citizen In 1925. Fuleihan Toured The Country And The Middle East From 1919 Until 1925 Living For A Time In Cairo Before Returning To The United States In 1928. Resettling In New York He Began To Compose Music For Ballets Put On By Various Contemporary Dance Organizations He Also Found Work As A Conductor For Radio At This Time. Beginning In 1932 He Worked For G. Schirmer Continuing In This Capacity Until 1939. In 1945 He Began To Teach At Indiana University In Bloomington Indiana In 1953 He Assumed The Directorship Of The Beirut Conservatory In Lebanon. In 1962 He Went To Tunis As Part Of A Program Organized By The State Department In 1963 He Organized The Orchestra Classique De Tunis Remaining There Until 1965. As A Composer Fuleihan Attracted The Attention Of Eugene Goossens Who Premiered His Mediterranean Suite And Who Assisted In His Reception Of A Guggenheim Fellowship. Many Commissions Followed Along With His Teaching Positions Across The Middle East. Fuleihan's Music Generally Avoided Serial Structures And Was Heavily Influenced By Middle Eastern Folk Music. Among His Best-Known Works Was A Concerto For Theremin Premiered By The New York Philharmonic Under Leopold Stokowski In 1945 The Soloist Was Clara Rockmore. Fuleihan Died In Palo Alto California In 1970. read less