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A Moroccan Beber from the town of Khenifra in the Middle Atlas Mountains, Boutat began playing the loutar as young boy in middle school. The loutar, a four stringed skin-faced lute, is among the diver... more
Singer, percussionist (dumbek and frame drum) and oud player, Alrodini was born in Bakat Al Hoddeidah on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. Learning music informally from the time he was a small boy, Alrodin... more
One of few in the world who is an expert in the Iraqi maqam, ElSaffar, trumpeter, composer, singer, and santoor player, is garnering an international reputation for his work, both in the traditional I... more
Performance with Hassan Hakmoun and Mohammed Bechar ... more
Check out the upcoming Cultural Walking Tours in May Check out the Maqam Events Archive Learn about Maqam Artists Learn about Brooklyn's Arab Music and Culture ... more
Born in Lebanon, Fakhoury studied classical guitar at the Conservatoire of Lebanon. He later picked up electric guitar, inspired by Omar Khoshid, famous for integrating electric guitar into the stand... more
Dena El Saffar, of Iraqi and American heritage, was exposed to Arabic music in the suburbs of Chicago, where she grew up attending Iraqi gatherings with her family. She began learning the violin at th... more
From Athens, Greece, Mikelis is both an ‘ud and piano performer. He holds a B.M from Berklee College of Music in jazz studies (2003), a Masters in Jazz Performance from the William Paterson Universit... more
Eddie Soubhi Ibn Farjallah Kochakhi was born and raised in Brooklyn, in a Syrian Catholic family on Atlantic Avenue. His sister brought him his first dumbek from Aleppo when he was ten. He came to be... more
El Mostafa comes from the Atlantic port city of El Jadida, Morocco. He bought his first instrument, a Moroccan wooden flute called gasbah, as a boy. He was drawn to its sad, yet sweet sound quality, a... more
Brooklyn-based Shafik grew up in a musical family in Cairo surrounded by Egyptian popular, folk, and classical music that made his Shobra neighborhood jump. As a young boy, he practiced percussion on... more
George was born in Birzeit, Palestine, and pursued music from a young age. In 1986 he moved to the United States, where he has studied oud with Simon Shaheen and classical singing and voice with Youss... more
Born in Nador, Morroco, to a family that practices music traditions, Hisham began playing percussion at age 13. His first lessons in music came from his cousin and a close friend, both of whom played ... more
Canadian-born Gutwilik’s interest in music began at a young age when his aunt gave him a Perez Prado album and his own transistor radio. School offered him an immersion into the world of traditional J... more
Lebbos comes from Beirut, Lebanon and learned debkah – the celebrated social line dance of the Levant- in the rural areas where it has been danced into the earth for generations. Lebbos’ debkah pract... more
From Casablanca, Morocco, Bohsina bought his first keyboard at age 12, and – as he recounts – it grew with him. Today he is one of NYC vocalists’ most requested and respected keyboardists. By 16, Bo... more
Johnny Farraj has studied riq (Egyptian tambourine) and frame drum with Karim Nagi and Fairuz's percussionist Michel Merhej, both featured in Brooklyn Maqam. He also studied oud with Simon Shaheen and... more
Nagi, a native Egyptian, is an expert in Arab, Turkish and Andalusian hand percussion. He holds a Psychology degree from Skidmore College. Nagi has studied with Nabil Ata, Midhat al-Rashidi, Simon Sha... more
Malika Zarra was born in Morocco and raised in France, where she studied clarinet and voice. In 2004 she moved to New York City to develop her rich and eclectic style, drawing on gospel, funk and Sub... more
Maurice Chedid honed his oud playing at the Lebanese Conservatory of Middle Eastern Music, but comes from a family of musicians. His father was a highly esteemed cantor in the Maronite Church in Leba... more
Baklouk, a Lebanese riqq player and teacher in the Lebanese Conservatory, has worked with numerous pioneers of Arab music over the course of his long and successful career. Among the notable musicians... more
Abdullah graduated from the Institute of Classical Music, with a specialization in both Western and Arab violin, from his native city of Aleppo, Syria. Known for its listening community with scrupulo... more
Born in Marrakesh, Morocco, Bechar moved to Brooklyn with his wife and children in 1997. He first learned Gnawa traditions as a young boy from his mother’s family; his cousin was ma’alem or master Gna... more
Nabawy grew up immersed in the Egyptian popular and classical music emanating from Mohamed Ali street, the Cairo neighborhood celebrated for its professional musicians, dancers and music stores. As t... more
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Yhya started playing the tabla at age 5. His uncle performed at local celebrations and would bring Yhya along, sit him on a chair, and prop a drum on his knees. Soon Yhya w... more
Ruskin is a composer and multi-instrumentalist with expertise in Arab, Turkish, and Persian music. Specializing in percussion, oud, and nay, Ruskin also performs and records on qanun, violin, rababa, ... more
Nourredine grew up in Casablanca, Morocco and began playing percussion as a teenager. Surrounded by Moroccan music traditions that are integral to Moroccan social celebrations, and greatly influenced ... more
Nasser comes from the Egyptian city of Tantra, where he started playing classical piano in high school. He later graduated from the teacher’s college at the University with a degree in classical west... more
El Tunsi was born in Tunis, where he began taking music and oud lessons at age 14 at the Salah El Mahdi Musical Club. El Mahdi, a legendary Tunisian music composer, recognized El Tunsi's talent and en... more
