Hanna Barakat was born in the U.S, to an American mother and a Lebanese father. She spent her younger years, home-schooled and traveling to numerous countries around the world with her family. From the time she was able to speak, Hanna has been humming and singing and dreaming of music in her life. Starting at the age of four, she recorded a jingle project for Radio Disney, and from that point on,...
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Hanna Barakat was born in the U.S, to an American mother and a Lebanese father. She spent her younger years, home-schooled and traveling to numerous countries around the world with her family. From the time she was able to speak, Hanna has been humming and singing and dreaming of music in her life. Starting at the age of four, she recorded a jingle project for Radio Disney, and from that point on, she performed in various musicals and events up through her teen years.

Hanna was accepted and began Berklee College of Music in September 2007, and from that point until her graduation from the College in May of 2010 with a Bachelor of Music in Songwriting as a voice principle, Hanna performed in songwriting competition showcases, performance competitions, ensemble recitals, and in some of the principal productions Berklee holds, including her own Commencement Concert on May 7th, 2010 at the Agannis Arena at Boston University honoring guest artists: Paco de Lucia, Angelique Kidjo, Gamble and Huff, and Kenny Barron.

Hanna has always been very passionate about her Lebanese heritage, striving to represent the culture, the language, the music, and most importantly the social/political struggles in her own works. She was a member of the Berklee Middle Eastern Fusion Ensemble for over 2 years, performing with distinguished artists such as Simone Shaheen of Palestine, Bassam Saba of Lebanon, Erkan Ogur, and Laço Tayfa's Hüsnü Şenlendirici of Turkey. In addition, she performed with the New Kids on the Block, Kirk Franklin, and the New York Gypsy All-Stars. She personally directed and performed in the group representing the Middle East in the Berklee 2009 International Folk Festival. In addition, Hanna headlined at the Boston “House of Blues” main stage in May of 2010.

At the age of twenty-one, Hanna moved her life to Beirut, Lebanon, in order to pursue two of her true loves: music and the Arabic language. While in Lebanon, She performed her original fusion music, as well as a variety of cover tunes, steadily throughout the country, forming a deep bond with her band mates and forging a lasting impression in the community. From there, the world was her stage, traveling, performing, and living abroad.

Aside from touring in Lebanon, Middle East, Hanna’s been booked throughout the Ottawa-Gatineau , Canada area, the states of Yucatan and Guanajuato, Mexico, as well as numerous venues in the United States of America, namely in Austin, TX, and now finally in her new home, New York City!

Hanna has always been very influenced and inspired by hard rock and popular music styles. Hanna’s ultimate musical goal, through her own writings, has been to combine the music from the Eastern world with contemporary music from the Western world in a way that allows her to demonstrate her own varied cultural background.

Hanna expresses her desire for her music to connect with other people. Resonating with communities displaced by the Diaspora of their own homelands who have been, as a result, influenced by multiple cultures around them, and at the same time, Hanna aims to connect with mainstream audiences that connect to writings of personal encounters, relationships, life issues, circumstances, and of course, love.

Hanna’s essential career aspiration is to be a full time singer/songwriter, performing and traveling in the hopes that her music will impact others. Hanna loves people and seeks to connect people through music. The simple concept of combining musical styles (Eastern Rock Fusion) allows for opportunities of intercultural connections among the musicians. “It is an amazing thing to see young adults from various backgrounds, religions, mindsets, prejudices, etc. that would normally separate them, join together and produce such brilliant sounds…” Hanna aims to be a cultivator for opportunities like that. “Those unique situations are the fertilizer for peaceful soil…and this Earth needs some of that here and there.” –Hanna Barakat

PERFORMED WITH
The New Kids On the Block -Boston, MA, Providence, RI, & Uncasville, CT
Don Was, Paula Cole, Kirk Franklin, Erkan Ogur, Bassam Saba, Simon Shaheen, Husnu Şenlendirici, Atlas Soul, The New York Gypsy All-Stars & the Berklee Middle Eastern All-Stars

NOTEWORTHY VENUES
Performed Internationally, Hard Rock Cafe (Beirut), TD Banknorth Gardens, Mohegan Sun, Providence Civic Center, The House of Blues (Boston), Carnegie Hall (NYC), BU Agganis Arena, Berklee Performance Center, Berklee Café 939, Berklee David
Friend Recital Hall, the Berklee LOFT, the Berklee RED Room, Harvard University

FEATURE FILM APPEARANCE
The Alamo, featuring Dennis Quaid & Billy Bob Thornton, Austin, TX, 2003. Hired as Native American "extra"

HONORS & AWARDS
The Dean's List, Berklee College of Music, 2007-2010
Berklee Achievement Based Scholarship, Berklee College of Music, 2009-2010
Jack Maher Award, Songwriting Department, Berklee College of Music, 2010
Lester Lanin Endowed Scholarship, Berklee College of Music, 2010
Walter W. Harp Liberal Arts Music & Society Award, Excellence Award of Honorable Mention, Berklee College of Music, 2010
Songwriting Department Annual Competition Winner, original "Cycle", Berklee College of Music, 2010
Performer/Songwriter Competition Winner, original "Wanting to Go Home", Songwriting Department, Berklee College of Music, 2009
Substance Abuse Awareness Competition Finalist, original "Let Go", Berklee College of Music, 2010
Women Musicians Network Competition Winner, original "Cycle", Berklee College of Music, 2010
Songs for Social Change Runner-Up, original "Cycle", Berklee College of Music, 2010
Berklee Alumni Ambassador, Berklee College of Music, 2010-Present
1st Place in the Music I/O Online Rock Challenge, 2015
3rd Place in all categories overall in the Music I/O Online Song Challenge, 2015
Judge's Pick in the indi.com Online Rock Challenge, 2016
Judge's Pick and a front of the line pass to audition live for the producers of America's Got Talent, 2016
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