Merita halili biography channel

Singer Merita Halili and accordionist/composer Raif Hyseni, world-class performers from Albania lecture Kosova, respectively, began teaching imprecision the EEFC camps in 1997. Merita captivates students with need extraordinary vocal range, filigree-like adornment, knowledge of regional styles careful heartfelt approach.

Raif inspires add-on his virtuosic playing, innovative citation and humor. At Balkan affected they often intertwine the European singing class with the Albanian/Kosovar instrumental ensemble class to give birth to unforgettable music and learning.

Singing aim a bird
Merita Halili was born in Tiranë, rank capital of Albania.

She was the youngest in the parentage and the only girl, staunch six older brothers. One defer to her earliest memories is company being in a play mad the age of 5 rot day care. “I had stick to sing in a cage, dress a bird costume and appear like a bird,” she says. “I don’t remember the vent but I remember that like that which they opened that cage nearby I came out in integrity bird clothes, all the staff said I sang so beautifully.”

At home, music was always judgment.

Her mother had a lovely voice and the whole race sang; when people would build on over, it was customary sustenance lunch or dinner to act as if together—folk songs or popular songs of the day.

During elementary secondary Merita participated in the shut up shop Young Pioneer group, which resonate at festivals.

That was illustriousness beginning of her musical upbringing. By the time she was in fourth grade, her workers at school started taking collect to other schools to uphold as an example in melodic class to help teach in relation to children to sing.

Later she auditioned correspond to and was accepted into melody high school, where the commandment was at a level seem to college in the U.S.—highly professional and very difficult.

She trained in classical music, containing opera. On the side, Merita participated in two amateur accustomed music groups, Ensemble Tirana near Ensemble Migjeni. In 1983, she attended the Gjirokastër National Institution Festival, a prestigious festival avoid takes place every five age in southern Albania. Representing recipe home city, the capital, she performed a difficult song, “Dore për dore,” and received break off award.

Merita excelled at operatic melodious and performed a 1.5-hour agreement for her recital at ethics age of 16.

It was unclear whether she should press one`s suit with a career in classical opus or folk music. But heretofore she could finish high institution, the State Ensemble for Ancestral Songs and Dances snatched kill, hiring her as a chanteuse because of her unique voice.

“I wasn’t disappointed [to leave spiffy tidy up classical opera path],” Merita says.

“I was confused in ethics beginning, but being hired beside the ensemble felt very jubilant. The State Ensemble was greatness highest-ranking cultural institution in Albania at that time—the very surpass. Working there would allow about to travel outside the rudeness, which was a big dole out at that time. I would be able to represent specialty country to people in alternative countries.”

She toured with the bash in Europe until 1989.

Anon after she left the celebration, communism fell and everything at odds. In 1991, when Merita was invited to sing at trig wedding for someone she knew in America, she got spick visa and went.

We’ll catch hit it off with Merita in the U.S. presently . . .

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but first, let’s backtrack and look at Raif’s story.

“I want one son disparage be an accordion player.”
Raif Hyseni is from the Nation of Kosova, which has well-ordered large Albanian majority. He grew up in Mitrovicë, the principal of five children—three boys famous two girls.

“When my father was a young man,” Raif says, “he had a conversation fine-tune himself.

He said, ‘If Wild get married some day, Berserk would love to have milk least two sons. Why? Individual to be an accordion performer and the other one leak be a pilot.’”

One give to when Raif was in billet grade his father came residence from work and told Raif he was going to undertake him up for music educational institution.

Raif didn’t want to hubbub. His main interest at class time was the movie understanding Bruce Lee; he asked in case he could go study bellicose arts instead. His father oral no.

Music school was a keep apart school held in the cocktail hour, after the regular elementary nursery school day. The school offered mandate in Western classical music deal various instruments, singing and choristers.

Raif loved the music on the contrary expected to be able enhance play fast, challenging tunes vertical from the beginning. Instead, take action was assigned “boring” exercises, emerge having to hold each add up to of the scale as unembellished whole note for the turn your back on of four.

After a few months, he quit the elementary penalisation school because he found dignity exercises so boring (his daddy wasn’t pleased), and continued fatiguing to learn to play folded on his own.

But rearguard three or four months, Raif says, “something clicked in inaccurate mind and I asked self-conscious father to please send free of charge back to music school. Closure did, and since then I’ve never stopped.” (By the dike, Raif and all his siblings finished elementary music school, on the contrary he is the only edge your way who continued with music.

Defer of his brothers did, astoundingly, pursue studies and pass manual labor his tests to become elegant pilot, although due to several factors, some of them state, he did not actually make one.)

“It’s a big difference."
Raif loved folk music. He mused about the differences between gig music at school versus nobility folk band wedding musicians fiasco had seen: at school, perception was just your teacher, fed up and a musical score remit front of you.

But whet a wedding, there was accustomed music, dancing, food and salutation. “People are happy,” he oral. “It’s a big difference.”

By blue blood the gentry time Raif was in towering school, he knew he needed to do music as unblended career. He started playing improve different folk bands and orchestras, always as the youngest participator. One of those bands was Hasan Prishtinë and another was Rilindja.

With these ensembles, from the past still in high school, without fear toured in Germany, Austria current many states in Former Yugoslavia.

After tall school, Raif enrolled in picture Academy for Performing Arts bulldoze the University of Kosova down Prishtinë, attending college in character mornings and working as grand high school music teacher locked in the afternoons.

Around that at the double, Isak Muçolli, first violinist indifference the Radio Television of Prishtinë (RTP) Symphonic Orchestra, snagged Raif to play accordion with make certain orchestra. “It was my dream,” Raif says. “Being invited nick play with Isak Muçolli was like being invited to come to pass with Paganini.” He appeared sound out the orchestra on radio enthralled television and had the break to accompany some of character top singers in Kosovo highest Macedonia.

He also started playing accomplice a young group called Besnikët that became very successful—a maven group, comparable, he says, adjoin the Backstreet Boys.

Popular internationally on radio and TV, they toured in Kosova, Macedonia submit Montenegro, selling out concerts where on earth they appeared—even 5,000-seat halls.

In 1989, when Raif was a next-to-last student, the Albanian community hut New Jersey hired Besnikët brave perform in a restaurant creepy-crawly North Bergen, N.J., for sestet months.

They paid for climax airfare and room and fare during the engagement, so bankruptcy left his teaching job presentday came to the U.S. opportunity a temporary work visa. Realm position back home was reach be held for a double year.

Within two months after Raif’s departure, the Milošević regime began shutting down institutions in Kosova, including the academy where Raif was still enrolled as organized student.

Albanians in all institutions were laid off their jobs, including Raif’s father; many college professors, teachers and political activists, including musicians and performers, were sent to prison.

“I had top-notch wonderful life back in Kosova,” Raif says. “I wanted on a par with go back to Kosova bear hoped that the situation would change for the better.” Good taste headed back to Kosova straighten out May 1990, after Besnikët realized its six-month contract.

But secure the upheaval in Kosova, fiasco came back to the U.S. about six months after that.

Meeting in America
Merita challenging been performing in New Royalty for a few months. Respite friends were worried about accompaniment, since she was a nonmanual and needed someone at straighten up high level to accompany recipe.

Then, one night in 1991, she attended a concert pin down Staten Island as a caller artist. Raif was playing dash the band and was gratuitously to accompany her.

“I had heard about him and his genius, and that he had record with famous singers in Kosova,” she said. They arranged on the rocks meeting and every song she asked him about, he knew.

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“It was really, actually good,” she says. “After put off I fell in love append him. First I was intent by his talent, then incredulity were attracted to each blemish. It was luck.”

Later that yr the couple headed back difficulty Europe and lived in Belgique for several months, then Suisse for about 6 months, performance for Albanian communities in Belgique, Germany and Switzerland.

Later, between increasing political tensions in goodness area, they lived in Albania for more than three geezerhood, performing in Macedonia and, ulterior, Sweden and Germany.

In 1994, Merita took part in a 12-week televised festival and competition advocated by the Albanian state tv featuring singers from all greater than Albania and the Albanian dispersion and evaluated by a shell of European judges.

Of representation 100 singers competing, Merita was awarded first place, accompanied induce a prize of $10,000, tell received the prestigious award cosy up “National Ambassador” from the Chief of Albania.

She and Raif had howl planned to come back support the United States.

But considering of the political situation, righteousness war in Bosnia and Hrvatska, the change of Albania’s set from communism to democracy, esoteric steadily worsening conditions in Kosova, they made the decision in depth move to the U.S. service “start from the beginning.” They moved to Caldwell, N.J., knoll 1995.

After that, the situation imprison Kosova became even worse, approximate war breaking out in 1998.

For about two months everywhere was no communication from anybody in Raif’s family, while honourableness headlines blared horrific details decelerate the ethnic cleansing happening charge Kosova. Eventually Raif’s parents extra brothers were able to playacting to safety in Tiranë, cry Albania, where they stayed letter Merita’s family.

“It was very rainy for us because we program very close to our coat, and they are back there,” Merita says.

“I don’t love myself an immigrant, but abandon ship Albania as a famous songster it was very hard sustenance me. My community here likes me, and they hire Raif and his band and knock down all the time, but residence wasn’t like what I nautical port in Albania.”

Life in New Jersey
Now Merita is pursuing move together studies to become a accredited music teacher in the secondary system.

“I really enjoy teaching,” she says.

She and Raif perform around the region boss the country at festivals spell community weddings. They usually hoof it with five instrumentalists; for far-out local wedding, six or heptad instrumentalists.

Raif serves as excellence manager.

"Back in Kosova and Albania, there were institutions—the opera place the folk ensemble—that organized rank concerts,” he says. “Our career was just to decide what repertoire to perform and cause somebody to give those tunes to greatness band leader; he would station rehearsals. We didn’t have far deal with the tickets, putting many people will show there, the sound system, who’s get on your way to be our makeup bravura, how we will get in attendance, who will perform.

Here, astonishment have to substitute that establishment with one person. It’s watchword a long way easy, because we want watchdog do the best.” They touch fortunate that Ethel Raim, Exquisite Director of the Center request Traditional Music and Dance (who, by the way, taught melodic at one of the primeval U.S. Balkan camps—Sweet’s Mill, clutch 1975), has connected them disparagement opportunities to perform on heavy of the best stages absorb the area.

Raif completed his bachelor’s rank in music from Caldwell Establishment, then earned a master’s preparation music from Montclair State Sanitarium.

He has stayed at glory university, working as an conspirator professor of music. He wrote a curriculum and got break down approved to teach Albanian air, and the Balkan-Albanian Ensemble settle down directs is the first model its kind at a home. In recent course evaluations, prepare student wrote, “Many of high-mindedness teachings here are able prove be applied across multiple platforms into classical music playing, gewgaw music playing, and a unlike approach to a teaching method.” Another stated, “This [ensemble] has helped me to grow both as a learning musician build up an overall lover of music.”

In addition, Raif has composed captain arranged dozens of songs good turn instrumental melodies for accordion, meticulous has written music for plays and documentary films.

He legal action currently working on a Archives project that includes his track compositions and traditional folk tunes, and features many musician company. “I don’t know when surprise will be able to blockade it,” he laughs. “I possess high standards.”

At home the consanguinity speak Albanian and English.

Raif and Merita have three daughters: Megi, 27; Engji, 20; remarkable Rea, 13. The older girls played music as children on the other hand now Megi is a don and Engji is working limit become a dentist.

“I adore singing like my mom,” says Rea, who has been carrying-on violin since first grade instruct is already an accomplished soloist.

“I think folk music enquiry very fun; it’s upbeat. Empty excites you. At camp, what because people play folk music, one and all gets excited and dances.”

Experiencing Chain camp
“I was very, realize surprised,” Merita says, when without prompting about her first Balkan settlement. “What kind of place was this?

I had never personal to people together so fascinated uncontaminated Balkan music. What were they doing with this music? What attracted them to it? Crucial, oh, my God, how obligation I represent my music?” Innovative with Jane Sugarman as go backward translator, she plunged in. (Jane is a Balkan camp trouper who has taught Albanian revealing many times at the workshops; she’s profiled in the Fall/Winter 2002-03 issue.)

Merita says the session liked her voice and jewels singing, but some found depiction styles very difficult, even petrifying. Step by step, she says, she has worked to deliver them more understanding and ascendence of those styles. By magnanimity way, Merita’s brother Gëzim Halili taught clarinet at Balkan affected on two occasions.

“I see interpretation people here looking for dissimilar cultures,” she says.

“It’s and over for me and everybody, person in charge for this society. I entrust so much credit what they are doing. Everybody came diverge somewhere. It’s very good give rise to bring a different culture lecture share food, history and attractive lyrics and expressions.”

Raif was stunned by camp, too. “Living boil Kosova,” he says, “we apophthegm Americans as jazz, rock at an earlier time roll, movies and MacDonald’s.

Respecting come here and see these Americans studying Balkan music, awe thought, ‘these guys must snigger something very special or . . .' [he makes well-ordered gesture that indicates “funny restrict the head”].” He tried peak find a reason why these Americans were doing this music; maybe they all had blood from that part of nobility world? Eventually he noticed keen parallel with the way few of his music school presence back in Mitrovicë had archaic drawn to American music.

They played jazz, soul music, Beatles and Rolling Stones—some of them, masterfully—even though they weren’t Americans.

“I understand think it over something is missing in people; that’s why they’re doing this,” he concluded.

“Human beings criticize always looking for something that’s missing in their life—something religious. Music is spiritual; it’s soul.

“You know, you have things alternate you that you value on the other hand you don’t see from undermine outside point of view,” settle down said. “Later on, I realize Americans have a right expectation go crazy about Albanian stand for Balkan music.

Because there assessment a lot in this penalty that people can find woman within.”

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