''From Past to Present - Joining East and West Together''

 

Jennifer Grout was born on May 20, 1990 in Boston, MA. She grew up in a family of classical musicians and learned to play the piano and violin at an early age. She first studied music at Longy School of Music and then at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, both in the Boston area. Later, she attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she obtained her bachelor's degree in classical singing in 2012. In the middle of her studies at university was when she discovered Arabic music and learned to play the oud and began listening to well-known Arab singers such as Fairuz and Umm Kalthoum. She briefly studied oud and Arabic singing with several teachers on the side in Montreal, including Aziz Daouni, Zied Benamor and Mohamed Masmoudi. Her biggest mentor from the beginning of her interest in Arabic music was Mohsen Soua, a man who she discovered through his online forum about classical Arabic singing/music (www.zamanalwasl.net).  Slowly but surely he guided her through much repertoire of less known but no less valuable works of "Tarab," and this guidance has until now been her greatest influence in her classical style of singing.

 

After completing her studies at McGill University, she realized her childhood dream of traveling to Morocco. She immediately fell in love with the Moroccan culture, language and music. Later, she met her now life partner and musician Said Ouzati, with whom she started learning the Amazigh music and singing and playing in the famous Jamaa El Fna square in Marrakech. Meanwhile, she had the chance to appear on the program Arabs Got Talent in Beirut, Lebanon in 2013, singing songs by Oum Kalthoum and Asmahan, and managed to come in second place. After this project she participated in several festivals in Morocco and other concerts abroad, including in Lebanon, Dubai, Kuwait, Tunisia, Canada, and the USA. The following year she returned to Beirut to attend another show for MBC called "Shaklak mish ghareeb," on which she imitated a variety of international singers such as Majida Roumi, Shadia, Mayada al Hanawi, Alicia Keys and even Madonna.

Jennifer is now living in NYC with her family and her daughter, Kamar, and is currently working on recording some original music in the Moroccan dialect as well as more Amazigh music with her husband.