Jihad Akl was born in 1968 in Beirut, Lebanon. His father, Ahmad Said Akl, was a musician and a teacher. Jihad spent his childhood fascinated by the violin, which he learned from his father. In 1974, at the age of 6, Jihad Akl won an estimation prize in a musical recital, from the occidental conservatory for the “Tournament of the Genius Kids”. From then on, his father endeavored to teach Jihad music and playing the violin in the most difficult circumstances of the civil war in Lebanon. During those years, there was no access to the Music Conservatory, and under very difficult conditions, the father, recognizing Jihad’s gift for music, continued to coach and help Jihad to master his talent at home. Jihad worked hard and consistently with his private teacher, studying musical notes, and playing the violin for 10 hours a day. He loved his instrument, and expressed his feelings through music, and thus the long journey to fame and success began, from humble beginnings and little resources. Jihad Akl continued his studies for 12 years, studying classical music intensively. At 14, Jihad joined the Lebanese Radio Station as the youngest radio station player ever. He had the chance to play in the presence of musical giants like Mr. Toufic El Bacha and Mr. Salim Sahhab, which he impressed with his talent and music. Jihad Akl continued to pursue his musical career by joining local bands and eventually leading bands. He performed live with many musical celebrities and stars both Lebanese and Arabs. At the same time, jihad pursued his studies, and broadened his musical education, to include music distribution, oriental music, solo playing and music composition. Jihad Akl found his passion in solo playing, where he could express his feelings, thoughts and emotions through a unique style of playing the violin. This brought Jihad Akl great success and recognition, where the influential chief editor of the leading magazine of the times AChabbaka, Mr. George Ibrahim El Khoury, nick named him as “The Magician Violinist”. Jihad Akl professional career took off to new levels with the creation of his own private band, and the release of 2 cassettes and a CD under the name “Bila Onwan”, translated as: “No Title”. His music immediately found great accreditation and he entered into the international music scene. Jihad Akl won many prizes and awards for his unique style of music, and his unique solo playing as a violinist. He performed live in many highly prestigious events around the world such as the Egyptian Dar El Opera, Morocco and Tunis festivals, Miss Europe ceremony, United Nation in New York, the Lebanese Presidential palace, The Arab Summit in Lebanon, and many more. He acclaimed fame and recognition which he surely deserves, as a genius of our times. Jihad Akl captures his listeners with a mixture of feelings of both pleasure and surprise at the astounding style he presents his audience with his unique music. Jihad Akl continues to this day to surpass and exceed himself with every new album or CD that he releases. His music is heavenly with very strong feelings that captures the listener and transports them to a different level of musical talent and creation. Jihad Akl loves his music and his arts and you can hear that love in every note and every performance, which he successfully passes on through his magical violin. Jihad Akl latest release is SHIRAZ, CD is now available in the Market. Source: http://www.jihadakl.info Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.