Biography
Ibrahim Maalouf (Arabic: ابراهيم معلوف; born 5 November 1980 in Beirut) is a French-Lebanese trumpeter, producer, arranger, and composer. In 2022, he became the first Lebanese instrumentalist to be nominated for a Grammy Award for his album Queen of Sheba, created in collaboration with Angélique Kidjo.
His father, Nassim Maalouf, is a trumpeter, and his mother, Nada Maalouf, is a pianist. His uncle is the writer Amin Maalouf, and his grandfather was Rushdi Maalouf, a journalist, poet, and musicologist.
Having left Lebanon as a child during the Civil War, Maalouf grew up in Paris alongside his sister Layla. He studied there until age 17 and earned a degree in General Science and Specialized Mathematics from Lycée Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire in Étampes (Essonne).
He began learning trumpet at age seven under the guidance of his father, a former student of French trumpeter Maurice André at the Conservatoire de Paris. Maalouf studied classical, baroque, modern, and contemporary repertoire, along with classical Arabic music and improvisation. His father invented the microtonal or "quarter tone" trumpet, allowing the performance of Arabic maqams on the instrument.
During his teenage years, Maalouf performed as a duo with his father across Europe and the Middle East, playing baroque works by Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni, Henry Purcell, and Antonio Vivaldi. He also played the challenging Second Brandenburg Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach. Encouraged by Maurice André, he abandoned science to focus on music and studied for five years at the Conservatoire de Paris. He has recorded with Matthieu Chedid, Vincent Delerm, and Arthur H, taught at CNR d'Aubervilliers-La Courneuve, and conducted master classes in the United States. His debut solo album, Diasporas, was released in 2007 on his own label.
Maalouf has composed multiple film soundtracks and works for choirs and symphonic orchestras. He has collaborated with artists such as Sting, Salif Keita, Amadou & Mariam, Lhasa de Sela, Marcel Khalife, Vanessa Paradis, Juliette Gréco, and Archie Shepp. He currently teaches improvisation at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris.
He passed an open competition to join Gérard Boulanger’s class at the CNR de Paris (regional Conservatory) for a two-year program. Afterwards, he succeeded in another competition to study under Antoine Curé at the Conservatoire de Paris for three years. He earned degrees from both institutions and participated in national, European, and international trumpet competitions. Since 2005, he has composed over 15 works for various ensembles ranging from small groups to symphonic orchestras and choirs.
Between 2006 and 2013, Maalouf served as a trumpet instructor at the CNR of Aubervilliers, La Courneuve in France...
