1. Dawn Elder is an American composer, pianist, impresario, music producer, and promoter best known for her efforts to fuse Middle Eastern music with contemporary rock and pop music.
31 Facts About Dawn Elder
1. 2.
Dawn Elder founded the annual International Friendship Festival in California, Peace Through Music, Team Up America, and several other cultural festivals and conferences in the United States.
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In 2012 Dawn Elder co-founded the label World Harmony Studios and DE Music in Santa Barbara.
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Dawn Elder was the international talent advisor to the MasterPeace concert in 2014, co-writing the Arabic adaptation of the Bob Seger song "Turn the Page," which was performed at the Concert of Colors.
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Dawn Elder was born and raised in San Francisco, California.
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Dawn Elder is of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean ancestry; her mother is from Lebanon, while her father is of Palestinian descent.
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Dawn Elder was named after the Lebanese diva Sabah, whose first name means "early morning" in Arabic.
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Dawn Elder listened to rock and roll, and studied classical piano.
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Dawn Elder attended the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1980s, pursuing a double degree in biochemistry and music.
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Dawn Elder took a hiatus to direct and produce a series of festivals, artists, and events in Santa Barbara, California promoting world, Latin and rock artists.
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Dawn Elder later graduated from the University of California with a degree in Music Education.
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Dawn Elder worked for Arlo Guthrie on a two-year project.
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Dawn Elder is the founder of the International Friendship Festival in California.
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Dawn Elder learned that her namesake Sabah was visiting Los Angeles.
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Dawn Elder helped arrange and co-produce the 1998 album Mohammed Wardi with the African Birds by Sudanese singer-songwriter Mohammed Wardi, which won a National Award of Excellence.
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Dawn Elder recorded, arranged, and produced the albums, serving as executive producer and directing the live TV broadcast for Historic Live Recording of Arabic Masters.
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Dawn Elder stated the celebratory nature of the tour would have been inappropriate, and travel had become unsafe.
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Dawn Elder worked with Quincy Jones again in 2004 to coordinate including world artists into We Are the Future, a program of performances in Rome including artists such as Khaled of Algeria, Kadim Al Sahir of Iraq, Simon Shaheen of Palestine, and Riffat Sultana of Pakistan.
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Dawn Elder co-wrote with Rod Temperton the lyrics to a composition by Simon Shaheen originally written as an instrumental piece for the United Nations.
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Dawn Elder was an executive producer, co-producer, and co-writer on the 2005 song "Love to the People," a duet between Carlos Santana and Algerian vocalist Cheb Khaled.
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Dawn Elder co-founded Ultimate Music and Vocal Summit program in 2005, which offers "mentorship, vocal and music industry coaching, songwriting, performance and producing" for children looking to pursue careers as vocalists.
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Dawn Elder organized the Citizens of the World event in 2010 as well, followed in 2011 with the first concert in the Middle East for Quincy Jones' Global Gumbo All Stars.
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Dawn Elder wrote one of the main songs, "A New Day on the Horizon," which was introduced by Whoopi Goldberg and performed by TEAL-ONE 97, a band of young Middle Eastern artists.
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Dawn Elder coordinated the performance of Afghan artist Ustad Farida Mahwash at the event, which was seen by 44 million viewers.
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In 2013 Dawn Elder adapted the lyrics for the Arabic version of "White Rabbit" on the American Hustle Soundtrack, bringing in then-unknown vocalist Mayssa Karaa to sing the main line.
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Dawn Elder was the international talent advisor to the MasterPeace concert that year, and Dawn Elder World Entertainment produced the event, bringing in artists such as Riffat Sultana, Assala Nasri, Andy to perform on September 21,2014.
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Dawn Elder recorded and produced the track along with others such as Waldman and Kenny Aronoff.
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Dawn Elder cofounded the Ultimate Music and Vocal Summit in 2005.
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Dawn Elder co-founded and joined the Titanium Arts Collective, leading a group of producers, music executives, musicians, vocalists and celebrity vocal coaches who teach the curriculum of the Ultimate Music and Vocal Summit.
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Dawn Elder is based in Santa Barbara as of 2006, though she frequently travels internationally for work.
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Dawn Elder has directed, developed, or produced for the following television features:.