Charles (Charly) Abraham is a Mississippi Delta native. He spent the first eighteen years of his life in Leland, Mississippi, soaking up the culture and the music of the region. He spent the next eleven years at the University of Mississippi, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Music Theory. While at Ole Miss, Charly served as director of the university’s pop music song and dance group, taught music theory and music appreciation, and was a university recruiter. He moved to Los Angeles, where he studied film scoring at UCLA, and provided original compositions and orchestrations for several television shows. During his nine years in L.A., he also worked as a bartender, a bodyguard, a limousine driver, and a private investigator.
Upon his return to Mississippi, Charly settled in Jackson, where he became part owner and general manager of Hal & Mal’s Restaurant, one of Mississippi’s most well known entertainment venues and restaurant, with four active music stages. In addition to his role as general manager, he also worked as a festival promoter, talent buyer, event planner, and producer of Mal’s St. Paddy’s Parade, the state’s largest single day event. He has spent his entire adult life as a music arranger, with many professional performers as clients. He is currently the staff arranger and orchestrator for two of the states largest churches, and composes for several high school show choirs. He also owns and operates Choirtunes, a music publishing service specializing in choral and vocal works. He is now revisiting his Delta roots as a member of the Delta State University faculty, teaching entertainment industry studies at the DMI.
