Hafiz Abdelrahman Mukhtar (; died 21 July 2023) was a Sudanese

flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, whose music was used on a number of radio stations, both nationally and internationally. He was one of the first Sudanese artists to present musical breaks at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington D.C., and his music usually focuses on the simple men of Sudan, and their grievances.

Biography

Hafiz Abdelrahman was born in

Nyala The lowland nyala or simply nyala (''Tragelaphus angasii'') is a spiral-horned artiodactyl antelope native to Southern Africa. The species is part of the family Bovidae and the genus '' Tragelaphus'' (formerly placed in the genus ''Nyala''). It ...

, the capital of the state of

South Darfur South Darfur State ( Wilāyat Ǧanūb Dārfūr; Janob Darfor) is one of the States of Sudan, wilayat or states of Sudan. It is one of the five states that compose the Darfur, region of Darfur in western Sudan. Overview Prior to the creation of t ...

, and began playing the flute at an early age. He then moved to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

to support his talent by studying music and drama at the University of Sudan in 1981. His beginnings were in the television industry when his first piece ''The Old Port'' was used as a slogan for the program ''Dinya Dabanga'', which was presented by Muhammad Suleiman on Omdurman TV and Radio. Abdelrahman obtained a master's degree in the specialty of instrumental music, and he learned from European conservatories, which led him to play a mixture of European and Sudanese music together. One of his most famous pieces is ''The Eternal Days'', which was published in an album with the same title, which was distributed globally by the American

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

, and thus is the first Sudanese album with authentic Sudanese music on Amazon. He composed up to 81 pieces of music on the flute, including ''Until We Meet'', ''Whispering Fingers'', ''Between Memory and Grief'', and ''The Rhythm of the Mountain''. Abdelrahman, through the flute, tried to convey grief to listeners and his music usually focused on the simple man of Sudan. He was considered to be a musician with a wide culture and remarkable skill and represented Sudan in a number of Arab and international forums like the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. He was one of the first Sudanese artists to present musical breaks at the

in Washington DC. His music was used on a number of radio stations, both nationally and internationally, like

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

(VOA), and

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(MCD). In December 2021, after a wide social media circulation of a rumour about Hafez's father's health and his family's ability to afford his treatments, his family issued a clarification, in which Zariab Hafiz Abdelrahman reassured the public about the health of his father. He said that the rumour had caused the family a great discomfort and that they did not have financial issues to treat their father, who suffered from

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Hafiz Abdelrahman died on 21 July 2023. He was buried in Al-Sarha Cemetery,

Omdurman Omdurman () is a major city in Sudan. It is the second most populous city in the country, located in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the capital city of Khartoum. The city acts ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdelrahman, Hafiz 20th-century births Year of birth missing 2023 deaths People from South Darfur Sudanese musicians