Wall of Fame

General Elia Bechara Francis

- Born in Beirut, 1948.
- Volunteered at the Military School as the first specialist officer in Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF).
- Pursued his academic and music studies at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music, the Higher Institute and the Police Academy in Egypt.
- Graduated as a Second Lieutenant from the Military School in December 1977.
- Attended courses in military and symphonic orchestration in Egypt, Jordan, and France.
- Reestablished the Internal Security Forces Orchestra after the war and conducted it from 1978 to 2006.
- Obtained an MA in Musicology from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in 1988.
- Obtained a PhD in Literature cum laude from the Lebanese University in 1996, based on his dissertation entitled “Arabic Poetry in Songs – An Analytical Study of Poetry Music”.
- Led an academic study on the history, origin and evolution of Internal Security Forces music, highlighting the other side of the institution right from its inception as the country’s police force.
- Contributed to the establishment of the Department of Music Education at the Lebanese University – Faculty of Pedagogy, and was appointed coordinator several times.
- Lecturer at the Lebanese University since 1997, in addition to lecturing at Al-Kafaat University, LGU, and the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music.
- Introduced music to Lebanese prisons in collaboration with the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music and the General Chaplaincy of Prisons, and the Internal Security Forces Orchestra.
- Delivered many lectures at the American University of Beirut (AUB), the Lebanese University, the Cairo Opera, the Lebanese Thought Council, Aix en Provence (France), the Higher Institute of Music in Jordan, and several other intellectual institutions.
- Introduced “Music Therapy” as a new subject matter in Lebanese prisons.
- Participated in the jury assessing several MA and PhD dissertations at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) and the Lebanese University.
- Founded the Arts and Heritage Band at the Lebanese University’s Faculty of Pedagogy, and conducted it during many graduation ceremonies and cultural events.
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