Omar Khairat is an Egyptian composer, pianist, conductor, and founder of the Egypt-based company "Omar Khairat Group".
Early life
Born in Alexandria, he was raised in a family of musicians. His uncle Abu Bakr Khairat, the great Egyptian composer and architect, established the Cairo Conservatoire and enriched Egyptian music with great symphonic pieces. Influenced by this legacy, Omar Khairat discovered new musical dimensions in the emotions and memories of the Egyptian personality.
Career
He joined the Cairo Conservatoire in 1959, studied piano with Italian Maestro Vincenzo Carro and followed correspondence courses in music theory and composition with the Trinity College in England. Omar Khairat shaped his musical identity as a professional independent composer achieving new musical visions characterized with deepness and richness. His debut performing in film music was The Night of Arresting Fatma in 1983. According to music experts and critics, Omar Khairat's music bridges contemporary Egyptian and Western music reflecting genuine maturity. Khairat understands authenistic emotions and traditional Egyptian music that helps him attract a large audience spanning the world. He has regularly performed at the Cairo Opera House and in various Egyptian and International ceremonies during the last fifteen years.
He was a member of well known Egyptian rock band Les Petits Chats until 1971.
Works
Khairat has composed many successful works such as The Fortune-teller, The Magic Perfumes, and Arabic Rhapsody. He also composed music for international events like the National Feast of Oman 1993, the Inauguration Ceremony of Bibliotheca Alexandrina 1996, Carthage Festival, Tunisia, Operetta El Sheikh Zaid, Emirates 2000, Panorama El Abour "Symphonic Poem", Musical Impact Cairo 1991, Fine Arts Cycle Spain 2004, October Celebrations 2000, Celebration of the Royal Jordan River Institution 2005, Garash Festival 2003, the Opening of the New Suez Canal 2015, Three Civilizations Celebration in Spain, Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Egyptian Cinema etc. His repertoire of cinema includes more than fifty projects: The Sixth Day, 1984, Am Ahmed Case, The Execution of a Dead Man, A Divorced Woman, The Servant, Elhanna Neighbors, The Terrorist, 1993, Hell under Water, Take Care of Your Mind, Grandchildren Conflict, Sokoot Hansawar, The Ostrich and the Peacock, 2001, Mafia 2002, Girl's Love, 2003, The Embassy in the Building, 2005, The Deer's Blood, 2006 and Mafish Gheir Keda, 2006. His projects in television drama music are Ghawayesh, The Miser and Me, Abla Hekmat's Conscience, Moon Face, The Fox, Knight's Age, Escaping to Prison, Afandina's Daughter, Agent 1001, The Salt of the Earth, The Emperor, Matter of Principle, Law in Islam, In Bad and Good Times, Date with Destiny and others. Khairat also rearranged works of the great composer Mohamed Abdel Wahab like Wahabiat 1 and 2 in addition to songs of Um Kulthoum which achieved great success due to his achievement of developing his own signature style of composing. In January 2019, Omar Khairat performed live concert in Al Ula heritagesite, Saudi Arabia.
Omar Khairat has won more than 20 awards for his soundtracks in the following movies: Escape from the Khanka, The Search for Tout Ankh Amoun, El Noum Fe El Asal, The Ostrich and the Peacock, The Ostrich and the Peacock, Sokoot Hansawar, Mafia, The Embassy in the Building, and Agent 1001 in best soundtrack by public voting 2005. In the year 2008, Omar Khairat won the Middle East Music Award, and on April 29, 2010 he was given an award for "best soundtrack" for the film "Welad el Aam" at the Cairo National Film Festival. He has received Arab and international awards such as the Oman Award 1993, a Certificate of Merit and the Shield of the 7th Cairo International Song Festival 2001, the Emirate Ministry of Media Award 2004, the Royal Jordan River Institution Award 2005, Certificate of Merit and the Shield of the Alexandria International Song Festival 2006, Certificate of Merit and the Shield of the 30th Cairo International Film Festival 2006. And in 2008 he received the Middle East Music Award.
