Renowned Egyptian composer, arranger, and musician Hany Shenouda has passed away at the age of 83.
Shenouda’s final musical project was a reimagined version of Bahlam Ma’ak (“I Dream with You”), originally composed by him and performed by Nagat El Saghira. The new rendition featured rapper Ziad Zaza alongside emerging singer Tina.
Born in Tanta in 1943, Shenouda graduated from the Faculty of Music in 1966 before continuing his studies at the Higher Institute of Music. He went on to found the iconic Egyptian band El Masryeen, an idea he credited to Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz. The group remained influential for decades, introducing generations of singers to the Egyptian music scene.
Shenouda is widely recognized as the musician who launched the career of Mohamed Mounir, composing four songs for his debut album Allamouny Eneiki and arranging the entire record. He later composed eight songs and arranged Mounir’s second album, Bentewled.
He also played a pivotal role in discovering Amr Diab after seeing him perform with El Masryeen in Port Said. Shenouda encouraged the young singer to move to Cairo to study music and introduced him to audiences through his debut album Ya Tareeq, composing four tracks, arranging the entire album, and introducing him to legendary poets and lyricists including Salah Jahin, Abdel Rahim Mansour, Shawky Hegab, and Aziz El Nasser.
Throughout his remarkable career, Shenouda composed timeless songs for Nagat El Saghira, including Bahlam Ma’ak and Ana Ba’shaq El Bahr, as well as beloved works for Faiza Ahmed, such as Hoda El Leil. He also arranged celebrated songs including Donia Gedida and Ala Wesh El Amar.
Beyond music, Shenouda left an indelible mark on Egyptian cinema by composing scores for some of its most iconic films, including Al Mashbooh, Al Hareef, Ghareeb Fi Beity, Al Ghoul, El Ostaz El Modir and Shaqet El Ostaz Elewa.
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