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Anis Fuleihan (April 2, 1900 - October 11, 1970) was a Cypriot-born American composer, conductor and pianist.[1]
A native of Kyrenia, Fuleihan belonged to a Christian Lebanese family; he attended the English School in that town before coming to the United States in 1915.[1] He settled in New York City, taking further piano lessons with Alberto Jonas; he also taught himself composition at this time. His debut of "Oriental Fantasies" at the Aeolian Hall in 1919 was well received.[2] He became a United States citizen in 1925.[1]
Fuleihan toured the US and the Middle East from 1919 until 1925, living for a time in Cairo before returning to the United States in 1928.[1] Resettling in New York, he began to compose music for ballets put on by various contemporary dance organizations; he also found work as a conductor for radio at this time. Beginning in 1932 he worked for G. Schirmer, continuing in this capacity until 1939.[1] In 1945 he began to teach at Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana,[1] where composer Mary McCarty Snow was one of his students.[3] In 1953 he assumed the directorship of the Beirut Conservatory in Lebanon.[1] In 1962 he went to Tunis as part of a program organized by the State Department;[1] in 1963 he organized the Orchestre Classique de Tunis, remaining there until 1965.[1]
As a composer, Fuleihan attracted the attention of Eugene Goossens, who premiered his Mediterranean Suite,[1] and who assisted in his reception of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He obtained several commissions and teaching posts in the Middle East.[1] Fuleihan's music generally avoided serial structures, and was heavily influenced by Middle Eastern folk music.[1] One of his works is a concerto for theremin, premiered by the New York Philharmonic under Leopold Stokowski in 1945;[1] the soloist was Clara Rockmore.[4]
Fuleihan died in Palo Alto, California in 1970.[5]
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