Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Singer Christiane Karam Raises Her Voice-and Her Fists-for Lebanon

26/09/2022

Singer Christiane Karam Raises Her Voice-and Her Fists-for Lebanon How the Voice Department faculty member's journey of healing led her from Beirut to Berklee to the boxing ring.

By

John Mirisola

September 26, 2022

Voice Department faculty member Christiane Karam will step into the ring to raise funds for the Childrens Cancer Center of Lebanon.

Image by Francesco Gargiulli

When Voice Department faculty member Christiane Karam steps out in front of the crowd at the MGM Music Hall in Boston this week, she wont be holding a microphone. That night, the only sound that will matter is the chime of a bell, a sound with a simple meaning: fight.

Donate Now

Join Christiane Karam in the fight for Lebanese children with cancer.

On Thursday, September 29, Karam will face off against her opponent in the Belles of the Brawl IX charity boxing event, organized by Haymakers for Hope, which is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support cancer research and care. In Karams case, the money she raises will go directly to the Childrens Cancer Center of Lebanon in her native Beirut. The match is the culmination of many months of training and years of growth in the sport (all while balancing her careers as an educator, musician, artist, and much more)-but for Karam, this fight represents even more than an athletic competition for a worthy cause. Through it, she weaves together many threads in a story that stretches all the way back to her own childhood in Beirut.

The Doorway into Healing When civil war broke out in Lebanon, Karam was 3 years old. By the time the conflict officially concluded, she was 19. As a result, although Karam has a deep affection for the country and its people, she also bears deep scars from the trauma of growing up amid perpetual violence and unrest.

Even Karams earliest experiences of music were marked by the conflict. My mom started me with music lessons when I was 8, she says. There was no conservatory; everything was shut down because of the war. Everything was dangerous. The piano in our house was in a room we couldnt always access because it was more exposed to bombings than the inside rooms. So I couldnt always practice.

Yet in spite of the turbulent circumstances surrounding her musical pursuits, Karam says that music itself quickly became a very safe space for me. It was a passion that stuck with her into her 20s, through the end of the war and her early career explorations in the medical field, until she finally decided at the age of 26 that it was time to leave. It was time to give myself a new chance and a new start. So she came to study at Berklee and pursue a new life as a musician. The transition to the United States was tumultuous...adapting from the reality that I came from, she says. But she knew shed done the right thing, and had given herself an opportunity to begin to heal.

That healing has involved many practices over the years, but it began with singing. My work started with the voice, Karam says. It was my doorway into my healing. She says she had to gradually get comfortable with the sound of her own voice, especially when singing loudly, and to sit with her own discomfort over how those sounds could transform in her mind into the wailing laments of war. Every experience we have-its stored somewhere in our body, she says, drawing insight from psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk's pioneering work on trauma, The Body Keeps the Score. In order to fully connect with her voice as an instrument, Karam needed to do the slow work of learning that she was safe inside that sound, and, as an extension, inside her body. I had to sit with it and be with it and stand it, and little by little, help my body heal.

Rising Above I knew it was going to take time to heal and to get the music going, get the pieces together, Karam says. And it did, it took a long time. But here I am.

Nar album cover

Image by Francesco Gargiulli, design by Noemi Cruciani

Here, indeed: a professor in Berklees Voice Department, the director of the colleges Pletenitsa Balkan Choir, founder and organizer of the Berklee Middle Eastern Festival, and an acclaimed performer and songwriter in her own right. Karam is also a published author (her book, Of Broken Pieces and Light Ahead, was released in May), a visual artist, and an activist and advocate for social change. Outside of her teaching role at Berklee, she also runs a coaching practice focusing on voice, mindset, and embodiment.

In January, her quintet, which features Berklee community members Vadim Neselovskyi, Naseem Alatrash, Peter Slavov '02, and Keita Ogawa '07, released a new album, Nar. A mosaic of musical traditions ranging from classical and jazz to Arabic and Balkan folk influences, the record is ultimately a celebration of joy and communal perseverance in the midst of the worst the world can throw at us.

[Its] this idea of rising above and finding beauty, and finding the poetry...and ultimately not letting anything steal your joy, she explains, emphasizing that none of us are exempt from lifes trials.

Were all helping each other. It could be me today, it could be you tomorrow. We all need to cultivate compassion.... There is a sense of shared responsibility that we as artists can encourage in a way that can be light, and inspiring, and joyous, too.

Watch the Christiane Karam Quintets music video for the Nar single Beirut:

Stepping into the Ring Karams journey toward hope and healing would not have been possible if she had not found a practice that could teach her to trust her body the way that singing eventually taught her to trust her voice. And she found exactly what she was looking for in a setting shed been inexplicably drawn to since childhood: the boxing ring.

I was always so enthralled by what happened in the ring, what happened in the corner, the outfits, the movement, she says. Its almost
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/singer-christiane-karam-raise...
See more stories from berklee

North America Stories

19/05/2026

Cisco and USGA Announce Multiyear Partnership Extension

Cisco and the USGA have announced a multiyear extension of their partnership, which began in 2018. Cisco serves as the Official Technology Partner of the USGA, ...

19/05/2026

Urban Edge Network and Spiideo Partner to Enhance NAIA Sports Streaming

Urban Edge Network (UEN), a streaming platform for NAIA sports, has announced a partnership with Spiideo to provide streaming and production tools to UEN's ...

19/05/2026

Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Expanded Roland-Garros 2026 Coverage

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will provide live coverage of all 900 Roland-Garros matches across its platforms beginning with qualifiers on May 18. In Europe, 21...

19/05/2026

Tubi Launches FIFA World Cup 2026 FOX Hub

Tubi, Fox Corporation's free streaming service, has announced the launch of the FIFA World Cup 2026 FOX Hub, a dedicated destination for World Cup programmi...

19/05/2026

Telefnica and Sony Conduct 5G mmWave Broadcast Trial at Movistar Arena

Telef nica, in collaboration with Sony, has conducted a 5G connectivity trial at the Movistar Arena in Spain using the 26 GHz millimetre wave (mmWave) band. The...

19/05/2026

Ross Production Services Integrates Calrec Argo M into New Hypermax-1 Truck

Ross Production Services (RPS) has installed a Calrec Argo M console into its new Hypermax-1 remote production truck, replacing one of three Argo S consoles pre...

19/05/2026

Panasonic Projector and Display Acquires HIVE Media Control

Panasonic Projector and Display Corporation has announced the acquisition of 100% of the shares of UK-based media technology company Hive Media Control Ltd. (HI...

19/05/2026

Globecast Completes Major Renovation of Singapore Facility

Globecast has announced the completion of a nine-month renovation of its Singapore facility, converting it from a traditional linear broadcast operation into a ...

19/05/2026

Grass Valley Signs Three-Year Enterprise Agreement with Phoenix Broadcast Solutions

Grass Valley has announced a three-year enterprise agreement with Phoenix Broadc...

19/05/2026

Watch Brasil Selects Bitmovin for Streaming Player, Encoder, and Observability

Bitmovin has announced that Watch Brasil, a streaming platform operating across Brazil and Europe since 2018, has replaced its legacy systems with Bitmovin'...

19/05/2026

Ateme and Akamai Power Nepal Premier League Live Streaming

Ateme has announced the migration of Dish Home Nepal's Nepal Premier League (NPL) streaming infrastructure to Ateme's TITAN Live solution deployed on Ak...

19/05/2026

CMSI Supports ESPNs NCAA Gymnastics Championships Coverage

CMSI provided workflow, media management, and HDR support for ESPN during coverage of the NCAA Gymnastics Semifinals and Championships. The company supported fi...

19/05/2026

SVG Rewind: TGLs SmartPin Cam Offers a Whole New Perspective for Golf

In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into the six production-technologies nominated for this year's George Wensel Tec...

19/05/2026

SVG Rewind: FOX IndyCar Takes In-Car AR Graphics to New Heights

In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into the six production-technologies nominated for this year's George Wensel Tec...

19/05/2026

NEP Supershooter 11 and 65 Roll Out To Meet Different Production Needs

Featuring a fully IP infrastructure, Supershooter 11 is intended for large-scale events. Enabling remote and distributed workflows, Supershooter 65 joins the RE...

19/05/2026

Boots Riley Unpacks His Vision of Power, Style, and Time at Sundance Institute's I Love Boosters Denver Screening

By Jessica Herndon The line wrapped around the building outside Denver's La...

19/05/2026

To Deliver for the Warfighter, Acquisition Reform Must Provide a Level Playing Field

When all companies in the market are allowed to compete under the same set of ru...

19/05/2026

Unjammable Lifeline: L3Harris Fiber-Optic Tethers Keep Warfighters Connected

Battle-proven technology withstands electronic warfare threats across air, maritime surface and subsea domains....

19/05/2026

WESCAM MX-Series: Defining the Moment Before the Target Moves

WESCAM MX-Series EO/IR systems provide high-precision targeting across domains, including counter-UAS applications...

19/05/2026

Cobalt Digital and SineSix Media Partner to Transform Accessibility Compliance into a More Engaging Viewer Experience at NAB Show 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. April 16, 2026 - Cobalt Digital today announced a partnership ...

19/05/2026

Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse Signal Processors for SDI and ST 2110 Workflows

Las Vegas - April 18, 2026 Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufactur...

19/05/2026

Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Cobalt Digital Address Live Production Gap as HDR Adoption Collides With Legacy Workflows

LAS VEGAS April 18, 2026 - Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Cobalt Digital are ...

19/05/2026

Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show

LAS VEGAS - May 4, 2026 - Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear initiativ...

19/05/2026

Cobalt Digital Brings Flexible End-to-End IPMX/ST 2110 Ecosystem to MPTS

London - 11 May 2026 Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear...

19/05/2026

NFL Pushes Back Against Critics of Games on Streaming

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/05/2026

NEP Group Rolls Out Two New Mobile Production Units In U.S.

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/05/2026

Phoenix Broadcast Solutions Raises its Live Production Ga...

Grass Valley has entered into a three-year enterprise agreement with Phoenix Broadcast Solutions as the Singapore-based company expands its live production oper...

19/05/2026

Clear-Com Enhances Musikal Perahu Kertas with Eclipse HX...

Clear-Com supported Musikal Perahu Kertas, a large-scale musical theater production in Indonesia adapted from the acclaimed novel by Dee Lestari, through the d...

19/05/2026

METEO CONSULT and La Chaine Meteo Select Actus Digital fo...

Actus Digital, a LiveU company, and a leading provider of intelligent media monitoring and broadcast compliance platforms, announced today that METEO CONSULT ha...

19/05/2026

Transforming Broadcast Operations - Globecast Unveils Sta...

Globecast, a leading provider of managed services for the broadcast and media industry, today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Singapore fa...

19/05/2026

Calrec Console Switch Helps Ross Production Services Fle...

Following a major upgrade to its Connecticut remote production centre with the installation of three 60-fader Argo S consoles in 2023, RPS has switched one of t...

19/05/2026

PlayBox Technology Launches a Modular Media Orchestration...

PlayBox Technology today announced the launch of Celebro Play, a browser-based media orchestration platform designed specifically for broadcast facilities and p...

19/05/2026

Publicis Groupe to Buy LiveRamp for $2.2 Billion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/05/2026

Tubi Launches 2026 FIFA World Cup Fox Hub

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/05/2026

Viamedia Introduces a New Geographic Intelligence Layer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/05/2026

NFL Pushes Back Against Shift of Games to Streaming

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/05/2026

LYNX Technik Brings SDI IP Integration and High-Density F...

LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...

19/05/2026

Media Links Integrates Xscend IP Transport Platform with...

Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...

19/05/2026

Media Links Expands in Southeast Asia with Clearcast Asia...

Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand Me...

19/05/2026

LynTec to Deliver Scalable Power Distribution and Integra...

Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...

19/05/2026

Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools

Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools Brie Clayton May 18, 2026 0 Comments New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...

19/05/2026

It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather

It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather Brie Clayton May 19, 2026 0 Comments If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...

19/05/2026

Netflix Unveils the Trailer for 'RAFA', the Documentary Series About Rafael Nadal

Back to All News Netflix Unveils the Trailer for RAFA, the Documentary Series A...

19/05/2026

Netflix Expands Consumer Products Footprint with Strategic Confectionery and Toy Partnerships

Back to All News Netflix Expands Consumer Products Footprint with Strategic Con...

19/05/2026

Matt Derella Expands Leadership Across LinkedIn Ads and...

Matt Derella Expands Leadership Across LinkedIn Ads and Microsoft Advertising Published on May 19, 2026 Categories: Company News LinkedIn Corporate Commun...

18/05/2026

For PPI, New Patents and ProCrewz App Development Portend Positive Outlook for 2026

Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...

18/05/2026

Daktronics to Install 11 LED Displays at UNCs Kenan Stadium in 2026

Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...

18/05/2026

CBS LA and Los Angeles Rams Announce Multi-Year Local Television Partnership

CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...