Organist Naji Hakim to open this year’s President’s Lecture Series Oct. 6

Organist Naji Hakim to open this year’s President’s Lecture Series Oct. 6

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

World-renowned Parisian organist Naji Hakim will be the first speaker in the 2008-09 President’s Lecture Series, presenting “The Mystery and Art of Improvisation” at 8 p.m. Oct. 6 in Stude Concert Hall at the Shepherd School of Music.

	NAJI HAKIM

Hakim is among the few elite contemporary inheritors of the great tradition of composer-organist-improvisers established by, among others, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Bruckner and Messiaen. His charismatic improvisations and compositions combine influences ranging from Stravinsky and Gershwin to Gregorian chant and Lebanese folkloric music and are characterized by complex rhythms and brilliant harmonies.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Hakim completed his music and engineering studies in Paris. After winning many first prizes and awards for composition, organ performance and improvisation, he became the organist of the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre in 1985 and was chosen by Olivier Messiaen to succeed him in 1993 at the Eglise de la Sainte-Trinite. He is currently a professor of musical analysis at the Conservatoire National de Boulogne-Billancourt, a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music and a composer-in-residence at the Trinity College of Music in London.

Hakim will also present two organ recitals, including improvisations, Oct. 7 and 8 at Edythe Bates Old Recital Hall and Grand Organ in Alice Pratt Brown Hall. Seating for the recitals is limited; reservations should be made by calling 713-348-8000. (Reservations are not required for the Oct. 6 lecture.)

Each year, the President’s Lecture Series brings to the Rice campus a variety of stimulating speakers on a range of topics. Admission to all lectures is free; seating opens at 7 p.m. and lectures begin at 8 p.m.

Other guests slated to speak as part of this year’s series include noted theoretical physicist Sylvester Gates, who will present “Einstein’s New Millennium Legacy” Oct. 15, and British mathematician Andrew Wiles, presenting “The Story of an Equation” Nov. 11.

For more information on the President’s Lecture Series, which is sponsored by the Office of the President and supported by the J. Newton Rayzor Lecture Fund, visit http://www.rice.edu/pls, e-mail ricepls@rice.edu or call 713-348-5585.