(b. 6 April 1977, Al Jahra).
Egyptian composer, born in Kuwait and now resident in Austria, of orchestral, chamber, choral, and piano works that have been performed in Europe and the Middle East.
Mr. Halaka studied piano as a child in Kuwait, then in Cairo. He taught himself guitar at age 14 and bass guitar at age 18, then studied bass guitar privately with Ahmed Anwar and Vasily Shenkarenko in Cairo from 1996–2001. He studied cello with Mahmoud Abdel-Maksoud and piano with Elena Dzamashvili at the Conservatory of the Academy of Arts in Cairo, where he graduated with distinction in 2000, and where he studied composition with Rageh Daoud, composition, harmony, orchestration, and score reading with Ahmed El-Saedi and counterpoint with Awatif Abdel-Karim from 2003–07. In addition, he studied singing privately with Sobhi Bidair, Violet Makkar and Raouf G. Zaidan in Cairo from 2000–07.
Among his honours are the Composition Prize from the Committee of Music, Opera and Ballet in Cairo (2003, for Egyptian Suite; 2005, for Destiny and Nightmare) and selection to participate in the seminars Global Interplay of ISCM in Cairo and Germany (2005). His music has been performed in Austria, Egypt, Germany, and Jordan.
He is also active in other positions. As a tenor leggero, he sang as a member of the A Cappella Choir in Cairo from 1998–2007.
He lived in Egypt from 1985–2007 and has lived in Austria since 2007.
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
ORCHESTRAL:
Classical Chamber Symphony, 38/39 strings, 1997
Concerto, flute, 38/39 strings, 1997
Spin (concerto), piano, orchestra, 1998
Concerto, cello, orchestra, 2000
Concerto, bassoon, percussion, string orchestra, 2005
The Lonely One on the Other Side of the Story, string orchestra, 2005
Martyrs of Invading Badr (symphonic poem), 2005
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Periods of Night and Blaze, French horn, piano, 2001
The Drunk One, mime ad libitum, flute, 2003
Egyptian Suite, cello, piano, 2003
Elegy (in memoriam Gamal Abdel-Rahim), clarinet, bassoon, piano, 2004
Brainstorming, flute, piano, 2004
Misty, violin, 2004
The Mummy, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 2004
Nightmare, string quartet, 2004
Sorrow, oboe, 2005
Destiny, bassoon, piano, 2005
Escaping, 3 French horns, 2005
Resonance, cello, piano, 2005
Dancing on dead bodies (all players also kick their feet), violin, cello, piano, 2005
White, piccolo, flute, E-flat clarinet, clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello, piano, celesta, timpani, glockenspiel, bass drum, triangle, percussion, fixed media, 2005
String Quartet, 2005
CHORAL:
Requiem, soprano, alto, tenor, bass, mixed chorus, trumpet, orchestra, 1998–2001
Birth Certificate (text by Mukhtar Ali Abu Ghali), soprano, alto, bass, 2003
Zoroni (text from the words "zoroni kol sana marrah haram tensoni bel marrah"), mixed chorus, 2004
PIANO:
The Bedouin and the Fortune-Teller, 2003
Four Little Pieces, 2003
A Case of Love, 2 pianos, 2004
Visit Me, 2004
Prelude and Piece (Farewell Friend), 2005
Fantasy, 2005