Biography
Naji Subhy Paul Irénée Hakim was born in Beirut on 31 October 1955. A former pupil of the Collège du Sacré-Cœur in Beirut, he pursued his musical studies with Jean Langlais (organ) and Evelyne Aïello (conducting), and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, where he studied with Roger Boutry (harmony), Jean-Claude Henry (counterpoint), Marcel Bitsch (fugue), Rolande Falcinelli (organ), Jacques Castérède (analysis) and Serge Nigg (orchestration), graduating with seven First Prizes.
Holder of a teaching diploma in organ from Trinity College of Music in London, he has also won ten international First Prizes in organ performance and composition. In 1991 he received the André Caplet Prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and in 2009 he was awarded First Prize in the Sacred Music Composition Competition of Monaco Cathedral.
From 1985 to 1993 he served as titular organist of the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre before succeeding Olivier Messiaen at the church of La Trinité in Paris (1993–2008). He also taught musical analysis at the Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt (1988–2019) and is currently Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. A graduate engineer of the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications in Paris, he is a member of the Consociatio Internationalis Musicæ Sacræ in Rome and Doctor honoris causa of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Lebanon.
In 2007, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI awarded him the Augustae Crucis Insigne pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in recognition of his service to the Church and to the Holy Father.
His catalogue includes instrumental works — for organ, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, harp, guitar, violin, viola, cello and piano — ; symphonic works — Les Noces de l’Agneau, Hymne de l’Univers, Ouverture Libanaise, Påskeblomst, Augsburger Symphonie, Trois Danses Basques, five organ concertos, a violin concerto, a piano concerto and a concerto for txistu — ; as well as vocal music, including the oratorio Saul de Tarse, the cantata Phèdre, two Magnificats and four Masses.
Naji Hakim is married to Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet, organist, composer and musicologist. They have two children: Katia-Sofía, poet, pianist and musicologist, and Jean-Paul, lawyer, pianist and composer.
Autobiographie — Autobiography (2026)
Short biography (English)
Naji Hakim (born in Beirut in 1955) studied with Jean Langlais and at the Paris Conservatoire, where he graduated with seven First Prizes. Winner of several international competitions, he received the André Caplet Prize of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and First Prize in the Monaco Cathedral Sacred Music Composition Competition.
Titular organist of the Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre (1985–1993) and successor to Olivier Messiaen at La Trinité in Paris (1993–2008), he is currently Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His output includes works for organ, orchestra and voice. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI awarded him the Augustae Crucis Insigne pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.
Naji Hakim is married to Marie-Bernadette Dufourcet, organist, composer and musicologist. They have two children: Katia-Sofía, poet, pianist and musicologist, and Jean-Paul, lawyer, pianist and composer.
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