Introduction

Rim Banna is a Palestinian singer born in the City of Nazareth in Galilee. She loved music and singing ever since she was a child. She participated in Festivals commemorating Land Day (30th of March) as well as in national and political occasions. She also participated in celebrations at schools.

Rim started her artistic life when she was 10 years old. She studied music and singing at the Higher Music Conservatory (GNESINS) in Moscow. She specialized in modern singing and in leading vocal ensembles. She finished the 6-year academic studies and graduated in 1991. During this time, Rim produced two albums of live recordings:

• Jafra Album in 1985

• "Your Tears, O Mother" Album in 1986

In 1991 Rim married the musician Leonid Alexeyenko from Ukraine. Leonid studied Music and Singing together with Rim at the Higher Music Conservatory in Moscow, where they worked together in music and composing. Currently, they live in the Arab City of Nazareth, the Capitol of the Galilee.

Rim Banna's songs are unique first and foremost because she composes most of her songs. She has a special musical method in composing and singing her songs. Her songs are inspired from the heart of the Palestinian People, from its heritage, its history and culture. Her singing and music are also inspired by the rhythms of the desert in the south, by the sea along the long Palestinian coastline, by the beautiful nature and its lovely colors of the flatland and the hills, by the echo between the mountains and the valleys, by the beat of the ancient Canaanite hymns which imitated the sound of the pure water emerging from between the rocks and the singing of the birds in the fields, that do not migrate but stand steadfast just like the blessed olive tree and the stubborn cacti which fill the land of Palestine.

The music and the melodies are inspired by the solidity of the lyric and from a profound feeling of the rhythm of the word. The intermarriage between word and tune take us from the skies of Palestine into the whole world. Her songs express the suffering of the Palestinian People, its dreams and obsessions, its joys, its sadness and its hopes.

The lyrics of the songs are by famous Palestinian poets: Tawfiq Zayyad, Mahmoud Darwish, Samih Al Qasim, Zuhaira Sabbagh, Sidi Harkash and some songs are written by Rim Banna herself. The two artists, Rim Banna and Leonid participate in composing the tunes in a creative and unique way.

Rim Banna's specialty is the Palestinian genre: Tahalil: which are children's bedtime songs. These have been imprisoned inside rooms and tied to the manjors until Rim sang them and presented them to the audience all over the world. Rim is still the only singer who presents Tahalil.

Rim sang several songs for children which she wrote and composed herself. These songs became widely popular among children especially when presented at Children's Festivals such as Nawwar Nisan Festival, Farah and Marah Festival, Jericho Winter Festival and Martyrs' Children Festival.

Rim Banna and Leonid present the Palestinian traditional song in a modern way both musically and in terms of its performance without destroying the essence of the tune or the beauty of the lyric. Together with her husband, Rim composes music for Palestinian popular lyrics such as popular stories, games and seasons songs. They compose music for these lyrics, which is inspired from Palestinian popular music, ancient Arabic music and also from international music of different nations. Rim Banna's songs posses a rare continuity from generation to generation which maintains the Great Heritage of Authentic Popular Art which is rooted deeply and fortifies National belonging.

Participations

Rim Banna and Leonid participated in Palestinian, Arab and International festivals and musical evenings, where Rim represented the Palestinian Voice and the Palestinian Song and found broad popular success and admiration.

Palestine:
Palestinian International Festivals:
- Nazareth, Bethlehem, Gaza (Festival of the Mediterranean) 
- She also participated in the opening activities of the Palestinian Satellite Channel (1999)
- The Jericho Winter Festival 99
- Kufr Burum, Jifna, Ramallah, Birzeit, Nablus (Sebastia Festival), Artas, Yafa, Beit Jala, Saffa and in many more cities, towns and villages in Galilee, the Naqab and the Triangle.
- In 1997, Rim Banna and Leonid participated as the first Arab and Palestinian artist in singing at Damascus Gate (one of the 7 open gates and the main entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem). 
- She also took part in the Jerusalem Shopping Festival and the Jerusalem Festival for Arabic Music 98 in Jerusalem

2. Arab World:
1995 in the Opera House in Cairo and in the Manufiah District in Egypt
1995 in the Phoenicia Gallery in Amman, Jordan
1997-1998 at the International Medina Festival in Tunis, Tunisia; at the Mediterranean Women Festival invited by the Ministry of Women, at the Baja cultural Festival and in several cultural evenings in Tunisia
1998 at the Al Hasima International Festival in Morocco

3. International Festivals:
1994-1999 in Italy: Rim Banna and Leonid participated in several Italian international Festivals, where she was accompanied by her Sicilian band. Her performances found broad success and admiration from the European Audience.
1994 she performed in Catania, Milazzo, where she was presented with the city's medal for the Person of the Year. She was also called the Ambassador of Peace
1996 Rim performed in Milan, Udine, Randazzo, Menfi, Sciacca, Caltanissetta, Catania, Bologna (invited by the municipality of Bologna). She gave a performance for more than 10,000 spectators.
1997 on the stage of Kismet in Bari. She also sang at the Rome Opera Theater.
1998 she participated in festivals in Rome, Riposto, in Siracusa where she represented Palestine

Other European performances
1988 Rim sang in Prague on the occasion of the Palestinian Land Day
1996 in the International Festival of Songs (Voice of Asia) in Kazakhstan where she won several prizes
1996 on the National Ibsen Theater in Oslo and at the Norwegian Awala University in Oslo
1997 in Portimao and Faro in Protugal
1998 she gave a Palestinian evening in the International Youth Festival of 1998 in Lisbon and she also performed on monitors in the International Expo 98
1998 on the occasion of Land day she performed in Gorgio, Bash and in Bucharest, Romania
1998 on the occasion of 50 years of Nakba (Palestinian Catastrophe of 1948) she performed in Moscow
1998 in Copenhagen in a Palestinian evening for supporting the Danish Students Campaign to support Palestinian students and also at the Royal National Museum in Copenhagen and in the city of Odenssy
1998 in Helsinbory, Sweden
1999 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

Productions

In addition to the Jafra Album and "Your Tears, O Mother", Rim Banna and Leonid produced the following:

1993 the Album "The Dream", which won first position twice in the Program: the Race of Songs on Monte Carlo Arabic Radio Channel
1995 the Album "Qamar Abu Leileh" which became widely popular in the Arab World
1996 the Album "Mukagha" for Children (produced by the Center for Children in Nazareth)
1996 mini CD in Italy together with her Italian Sicilian musicians
1997 she was hosted as guest on a CD by an Italian band

Rim's songs also played an important role in several Arab and foreign Cinema and TV productions, in some Arab TV programs, in Palestinian documentary programs about the Palestinian Popular Uprising (Intifada) in Palestine.

Rim Banna carries a message and aspires to achieve several goals:
- Upgrading the Arabic Palestinian committed and untraditional song to the level of the international song
- Upgrading the ability to enjoy popular music and singing to a suitable Arab and international level and liberating the Arab song from negative influences.

Technical Rider

3 X monitor 15" wedge
2 X big stands
P.A system - 4 way speaker system
Power enough to cover the concert area

Position on Stage