About
Biography
Rabih Lahoud is the singer of the successful jazz band Masaa, with which he has already released 5 albums, and a member of Markus Stockhausen's band Eternal Voyage. He has also been involved as a soloist in numerous productions and festivals, including the Handel Festival in Halle (2012), the "düsseldorf Festival!" (2015, 2022), the Rheingau Festival (2019) and Elbjazz (2021). With Stockhausen, he performed his world premiere "Das erwachende Herz" as soloist with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra in March 2013 to great acclaim in Hamburg. In 2015, he was soloist in the world premiere of "Search For Buddha" (Sandesh Shandilya) together with the WDR Rundfunkchor and the WDR Funkhausorchester Cologne. In 2016 and 2019, he performed Leonard Bernstein's "Mass" at the Kölner Philharmonie and Tonhalle Düsseldorf, among others, with the Gürzenichorchester Köln and Tonhallenorchester Düsseldorf. In 2019, the WDR Rundfunkorchester invited him as a soloist for the "Symphonic Woodstock" project. In 2022, he performed together with Kris Davis and Zoh Amba as part of the Monheim Triennale.
2018 Rabih Lahoud was nominated for the ECHO 'Best Jazz Singer National'.
2021 WDR Jazz Award Winner
2021 Winner of the German Jazz Award (with Masaa; CD "Irade" in the category.
"Album Vocal of the Year").
Lahoud has been one of Germany's most requested vocal instructors for several years and coaches numerous choirs and ensembles, such as Maybebop, OnAir and the Bonner Jazzchor. His passion is the teaching of popular singing styles and the topic flow in the singing voice, for which he scientifically delved and engaged in flow research. On this subject, he published the book "Voice in Flow" in 2022.
Lahoud also works as a composer. In 2011, his work "Joseph Lamento" was premiered by the choir of the Bach Association and the ensemble Concerto con anima in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall. In 2015, he participated as composer and singer in the 6th City District Opera with the German Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Bremen. In collaboration with Ensemble Modern and pianist Florian Weber, he participated in a performance as part of the festival "This is not Lebanon" in 2021.
2019 - 2022 Carl-Maria-von-Weber University of Music in Dresden (methodology and vocal technique).
2019 - 2022 Popakademie Mannheim (contemporary Arabic singing and pop music design).
2021 - 2023 Guest professor for jazz singing at the Jazzinstitut Berlin (main artistic subject, ensemble).
Since the Lebanese poet Rabih Lahoud and the Schwerin trumpeter Marcus Rust met by chance in 2010, together with pianist Clemens Pötzsch and percussionist Demian Kappenstein they have created a forward-looking, intercultural music in the middle of Germany: In Masaa, heartfelt Arabic verse and contemporary jazz interweave, the Occident and the Orient enter into a lyrical liaison with unprecedented conclusiveness.
Masaa have realized their groundbreaking concept on three albums so far, the debut "Freedon Dance" (2012), the follow-up "Afkar" (2014), "outspoken" (2017), "Irade" (2020) and the current album"Beit" (2023)
If Afkar was the impressive snapshot of a search, outspoken documents the powerful result of a patient and determined development, for which MASAA was awarded the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Rabih Lahoud was nominated for the ECHO Jazz in the category "best national singer" for this album. Already in the founding year 2012 they were awarded the Bremen Jazz Prize. In the following years 2 more important world music awards of Germany went to them: The Audience Award of the Creole Competition (2013) and the Förder-RUTH of the TFF in Rudolstadt (2015).
From the beginning, the band has been keen to take their work to the outside world: Masaa have completed successful tours to Africa and Lahoud's home country Lebanon, and in summer 2015 started their teamwork with Israeli musicians such as singer Yael Deckelbaum. With this collaboration Masaa set a signal for the support of the peace process between Jewish and Arab culture.
Starting in 2019, they will perform with a new sound and personnel. In place of pianist Clemens Pötzsch, Reentko Dirks has now joined the band on double-neck guitar - an exceptionally versatile guitarist who is at home in classical, pop as well as world music. He is an explorer of previously unknown sounds on the acoustic guitar and shapes Masaa's new sound with his style in a special way.
Rabih Lahoud, vocals
studied composition, classical piano, classical singing and jazz singing. As familiar with Western musical tradition as he is with the musical culture of his Arab homeland, he is interested in the ambivalence between Orient and Occident.
With Markus Stockhausen he founded the band "Eternal Voyage", with which he released a CD in 2009 and performed at the Kölner Philharmonie, among other venues. He has a teaching position for jazz and pop vocals at the universities in Düsseldorf and Hamburg.
Marcus Rust, trumpet
discovered his passion and interest in traditional music of foreign cultures during a longer stay in India. Among other things, these influence his work with organist Christian Grosch in the duo "Zia". The musicians dedicate themselves to the connection of jazz and traditional music of different cultures and jazz in the church room. He has a teaching position for jazz trumpet at the UDK in Berlin.
Reentko Dirks, guitar
is a guitarist and composer. He has written and produced music for artists of Cirque du Soleils as well as the Semperoper Dresden and is a member of the EUROPEAN GUITAR QUARTET. Reentko is known to a wide audience mainly as a guitarist at the side of Giora Feidman or also Ben Becker. He has performed in concert halls such as Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and Carnegie Hall in New York.
Demian Kappenstein, percussion
released a CD with the "Ring Ensemble", in which the musicians of his jazz trio "Ring" collaborated with an ensemble of historical string instruments.
With his solo program "Travel Suite" he processes experiences from his travels through countries such as Kosovo, Taiwan, Turkey or Israel. Kappenstein has worked with musicians such as Giora Feidman, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Miss Platnum.
