Marie Keyrouz

Sister Marie Keyrouz is a Lebanese nun and multi-lingual singer of religious music, specializing in sacred songs and chants of Middle Eastern origin. She was born outside Baalbeck, Lebanon, in the town of Deir Al-Ahmar. Raised in the Eastern Catholic tradition of the Maronite church, she studied music and religious anthropology at a variety of universities and later took her vows in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Bringing together her religious devotion and musical talents, she released a debut album, Chant byzantin, in 1989. The album was influenced by both eastern and western traditions, and Marie Keyrouz brought similar variety to her follow-up releases, including albums like 1991's Chant traditionnel Maronite, 1994's Chants Sacrés Melchites - Hymnes à la Vierge, 1999's Chants Sacrés d'Orient et d'Occident, and 2001's Psaumes for the 3rd millénaire. Singing in languages like Lebanon, Greek, Syriac, and Arabic, Keyrouz became known as one of the world's premiere sopranos in the Oriental Church Music tradition, and she often recorded her albums alongside her group Ensemble de la Paix. Meanwhile, having relocated to Paris years earlier to complete her collegiate studies, she launched L'Instituit International de Chant Sacré — also known known as the National Institute of Sacred Music — in 1994, serving as the organization's president for decades.

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