Sonia M'barek سنية مبارك | |
|---|---|
 Sonia M'barek performing at theInstitut du Monde Arabe in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1969 (age 56–57) Sfax, Tunisia |
| Genres | Arabic music |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1978–present |
Sonia M'barek (سنية مبارك, also spelledSonia Mbarek, 1969– ) is a Tunisian singer of classicalArabic music and related genres.[1] She was Minister of Culture from January to August 2016.[2]
M'barek was born inSfax, Tunisia. At age nine, she sang traditionalTunisian music (malouf) with the Municipal Theatre of Tunis, under the direction of Tahar Gharsa. At 12, she made her first television appearance, interpreting "Ahkili aliha ya baba", a children's song composed by and performed with Adnène Chaouachi. The success of this song thrust M'barek into the artistic domain.[3]
A student at the National Conservatory of Music at Tunis, she received a degree inArabic music in 1986, and in 1987, with composer Rachid Yeddes, received the prize for the best song at the Festival de la Chanson Tunisienne (for "Khali el hozn baîd alik"). In 1990, she realized a project inspired byworld music, entitled "Musiques sans frontières" ("Music without borders"), which she presented at the Festival International d'Hammamet.
In 1992, M'barek released her first album,Liberté. Between 1993 and 1993, she worked successfully with theoud playerAli Sriti and his studentAnouar Brahem, with whom she gave over 30 concerts classical music concerts, which were released on an album calledTarab. In 1997, she released her second solo album,Tawchih, followed in 1999 withTakht, which was distributed throughout Europe, the United States, and Japan by World Network, a German record label. That same year, she gave a concert in Paris, at Café de la Danse, for the Festival Les Belles Nuits du Ramadan.[4]
In 2000, she performed at theKennedy Center in Washington, D.C., during the National African Summit, and during a tour of thefrancophone world, she also gave a concert at the United Nations in New York City (Dag-Hammarskjöld Auditorium), and participated in the festival Voix de femmes inBrussels, celebrating the opening of theHalles de Schaerbeek/Hallen van Schaarbeek. M'barek then released the albumsTir el Minyiar in 2003 andRomances in 2004.[5]
Sonia M'Barek is married and has two children.[6][7]
Between 2005 and 2008, M'barek was the first woman to act as director of the Festival de la Chanson Tunisienne, which is organized by the TunisianMinister of Culture.[10] She has been a member of l'Association des Etudes Internationales since 1995, a member of the executive office ofThe Rachidia from 2001 to 2003 and, since 2002, goodwill ambassador of the Tunisian Association for the Fight against Cancer.
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