Jiryis Ballan (IL; buzuq, trumpet, composition)

Jiryis grew up in Nazareth, in the Galilee region of northern Israel.  After completing his studies in music and archaeology at the University of Haifa, he began his M.A studies there in Film and Culture Studies, before transferring to the M.A composition program at SUNY Buffalo, for which he won a Fulbright Scholarship in 2014. At SUNY, Jiryis studied composition with Jonathan Golove and Cort Lippe, focusing on music for contemporary dance, and was also active in the Theatre and Dance Department as an accompanist for contemporary dance classes and dance and music improvisation workshops. In his compositions, Jiryis integrates various artistic disciplines, including fine arts, dance and theater, with a focus on contemporary music, improvisation and Lebanese and Palestinian folk music. Jiryis is also a performer: he plays the buzuq in his ensemble, Jaya Trio, whose repertoire includes Lebanese and Palestinian folk music and works of the Lebanese composer Ziad Rahbani, as well as other Arabic maqam-based music.
Jiryis is currently working as a research assistant at the Music Department of the University of Haifa, where he is researching Palestinian wedding music in the Galilee and maqam-based music with Dr. Abigail Wood and Prof. Taisser Haddad, and attending the composition workshop of Prof. Eitan Steinberg.

soundcloud.com/jeries-ballan/jerr_can-trio-zourouni

Photo: Yaacov Saban