Bio

Mohamed Amine Kalaï is a Tunisian qanun player born in Kairouan.
He began his musical studies in 2005 at the Regional Conservatory of Kairouan and obtained in 2009 the national diploma of Arabic music, before receiving in 2011 his instrument’s diploma in qanun. His participation in the Festival of Young Musicians in 2006 was crowned with first prizes: in the qanun category as well as for the entire festival. In July 2013, he participated in the “Neapolis Music Days”, during which he won the first prize with an “excellent” mention of the “very advanced” category and the Golden Rabeb of the same competition.
Recognized as a young talent, he played in February 2014 at the Festival Young Virtuosi in Ennejma Ezzahra and in October 2014 at the International Festival of Peoples in Aradeo, Italy. In June 2015, he participated in Istanbul’s second Ottoman Music Summer School organized by the University of Istanbul, benefiting from six masterclasses with qanun virtuoso and renowned composer Göksel Baktagir.
Regularly invited to present his instrument and Tunisian music at national and international festivals, he notably performed at the International Celtic Harp Festival in Dinan, France, and at the Eastern Music Summer Academy in Sulzburg, Germany. He played with several well-known national musical ensembles, including the Tunisian Symphony Orchestra, with whom he gave an unprecedented performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto in C Major RV 93 in an adaptation for qanun under the direction of Pierre-Yves Gronier.
After publishing in 2012 a collection of 57 works of his composition in the traditional Tunisian style (bachrafs), Mohamed Amine is currently deepening his research on traditional forms of Tunisian music. He is also working on the development of a new method of playing facilitating the adaptation of Western works (including baroque music written for lute). His first album, Mukkadima, is an anthology of anonymous pieces from the Andalusian repertoire of Tunisian music, completed with works of his composition.
He is cofounder of Harkan, a unique Harp and Kanun duet in the MENA and Europe Region.
In parallel of his musical career, he is currently pursuing an MD degree.