Love and Loss: Traditional Music of Syria

Born in al-Haffa, Latakia, Khalil Haj Hussein started learning music (oud) and composing on his own at the age of seven. He was a part of the Nahawand Ensemble from 1981 until 1990 and he studied Arabic Literature at Tishreen University and worked as an Arabic teacher for 10 years in the 1990s. After this, he began teaching music and was responsible for the school’s theatrical ensembles and choir which received numerous awards under his tutelage. Hussein has worked with numerous musicians as a vocal coach and theory teacher.

He has written over 70 compositions (21 of which are muwashah) and tonight we perform two of them.

Mahmoud Ajjan is a remarkable scholar, oudist, violinist, and composer, largely self-taught through his extensive study and practice. He began composing at the age of 15 and continued throughout his life, becoming one of Syria’s hidden musical gems.

In 1945, he founded the Musical Club of Latakia, which became a vital institution for musical education in the region. This initiative helped many young musicians pursue their dreams professionally. In 1957, Ajjan represented Syria at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow, where he performed one of his compositions for violin in honor of the esteemed Arab poet and philosopher Abu al-’Alaa al-Ma’arri (973-1057). His performance received widespread acclaim, leading to an honor at the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies.

Upon returning to Syria, Ajjan was recognized by the Syrian Ministry of Culture, receiving awards in 1959 and again in 1969. Beyond performing, composing, and teaching, he dedicated himself to research, archiving, and transcribing numerous Adwar (the plural of Dawr) and Muwashahat. He published two significant books: Study of the Dawr (1990) and Leil & ‘Ayn in Music and Poetry Traditions (2001).

Although not widely known outside his region, Ajjan's profound impact on music composition, musicology, and his students remains significant, solidifying his legacy in Syrian cultural history.

Majdi al-’Aqili is celebrated as one of Aleppo's most renowned composers. His passion for music blossomed during his secondary school years, where he studied the oud under Bakri Kurdi and delved into traditional music with Ali Darwish and Omar al-Batsh, despite facing objections from his father. His musical journey in the 1930s was both diverse and innovative. In 1935, he invented the gankaran, a seven-stringed instrument similar to the oud that could also be bowed. The following year, he traveled to Italy to study Western classical music theory, returning to Aleppo in 1939 to begin his teaching career in local schools.

In 1942, al-’Aqili received an invitation to Jordan to train the army band, where he stayed for two years before returning to Aleppo to continue his educational efforts. A dedicated educator, he later became the director of the Oriental Music Institute in Damascus, serving from 1956 until its closure in 1959.

His career in radio took off in 1947 when he moved to Damascus and played a pivotal role in establishing Syrian Radio. By 1955, he had become the director of Aleppo Radio and, in 1962, served as an advisory member of the General Organization of Radio and Television.

In addition to his contributions in performance and education, al-’Aqili was a prolific author and composer. He wrote several influential books on music, including The Language of String (1940), The Language of Music (1950), Arab National Songs (1951), Music and Songs of Childhood (1952), Al-Kindi (1964), and Arab Listening (1969). As a composer, he wrote 25 muwashahat, one of which will be featured in today’s concert: “Ayyuha al-Saqi,” composed in 1948 from a poetry written by Ibn Zuhr (1094-1162) of Seville, medieval Andalusia.

A native of Syria, Samer Ali is a versatile physician, violinist, oudist, composer, and the founder and artistic director of the Syrian Music Preservation Initiative. He has led Takht al-Nagham, SMPI's Arab chamber music ensemble, performing at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Samer began his musical journey at the age of eight, studying Western classical violin with Fawaz al-Ali and Ali Farran. He later underwent intensive training with Ali Mukhtar Babayev. In addition to this, he apprenticed with the esteemed musicologist Muhammad Qadri Dalal, while studying Arab classical violin with renowned musicians Simon Shaheen and Anwar Hariri.

In Damascus, he co-founded the Awj ensemble and has continued to perform in the U.S. with groups such as the Excelsior Symphony Orchestra and the National Arab Orchestra.

In the medical field, Samer earned his M.D. in Syria and currently works as a Pathologist and Assistant Professor at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, effectively balancing his passions for both medicine and music.

Marissa earned her undergraduate degree in double bass performance from the Eastman School of Music, studying under renowned soloists James VanDemark and Curtis Buris. She later pursued her MBA and MA in Arts Administration at Southern Methodist University (SMU), continuing to immerse herself in the world of music.

After completing her studies, Marissa worked with various nonprofit organizations while performing with a diverse range of musical groups, including classical, rock, and Middle Eastern ensembles. Her multifaceted experience reflects her deep commitment to both music and the arts community.

Lubana al-Quntar is regarded as one of the leading opera singers of the Arab world, with a repertoire that also includes traditional Arabic, folk and pop music. Born in Damascus, she completed her academic studies at the Royal College of Music in London and the Damascus Conservatory of Music, and studied operatic performance at the Maastricht Academy of Music in Holland.

She has appeared globally as an opera soloist and as a traditional Arab singer, astonishing audiences with her mastery of the two different musical traditions. Notable appearances include Opera Bastille (Paris); Flemish Radio Orchestra Musica Viva (Bremen); Avincenna (Doha), the world’s first Arabic opera; and the Silk Road Festival (Tokyo). She headed the opera department at the Damascus Conservatory (2003-2011) where she taught opera and Arabic singing. She has dedicated her voice and efforts to raise awareness of Syrian culture and aid world refugees through fundraising concerts.

Dubbed "one of New York’s most eclectic, interesting oudists” (NY Music Daily), Brian Prunka composes and performs jazz and middle-eastern influenced music with his own projects (such as Nashaz and Sharq Attack). In addition, he currently performs with the Bil Afrah Project, Zikrayat, Matt Darriau, the New York Arabic Orchestra and others, as well performing on Broadway and writing for film and dance. His many diverse compositions and distinct improvisational style express his personal musical journey and passion for both Arabic and American musical forms. He has performed throughout the U.S. and internationally with such artists as Simon Shaheen, Wajde Ayoub, Nano Raies, Michael Bates, Ravish Momin, and The Vancouver International Orchestra.

John Murchison is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist who performs in the worlds of pop and musical theater, jazz and avant-garde, and traditional musics from the Middle East and Africa. John is one of the most in-demand bassists for traditional Arabic music in the United States, and also performs regularly on qanun, gimbri, oud, and percussion. He is cofounder of Brooklyn Maqam, an organization dedicated to presenting, promoting, and building community around Arabic music in the NYC area.

Gideon Forbes is a saxophonist, nay player, composer, and improviser in Brooklyn. He co-leads the chordless quartet Nortonk, and performs regularly with the New York Arabic Orchestra, Takht al-Nagham, the Brooklyn Nomads, and Zikrayat, among others. Most recently Gideon organized an ensemble performing the music of Egyptian organist Hany Mehanna. As a student of Arabic music, he has studied with Bassam Saba, Layth Sidiq, Sami Abu Shumays, Johnny Farraj, and Michael Ibrahim.

Nezih Antakli is a New York City-based percussionist who has performed nationally in numerous venues like the Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, as well as internationally on a variety of festivals around the world as well as on the Broadway Show "The Band's Visit". A graduate of the University for the Arts in Rotterdam, Netherlands (CODARTS), he moved to the United States in 2007 and has been involved in the Middle Eastern and Balkan music scene in the wider New York City and Philadelphia area.

Zahra Al Zubaidi is a New York-based Iraqi vocalist with a focus on performing various Arabic styles, especially Iraqi music. She has performed as a featured artist across the US, with renowned artists such as Muhammad Qadri Dalal and Lubana AlQuntar, and with ensembles such as Safaafir, Hamid AlSaadi, and Takht ElNagham. Zahra was awarded the City Artist Corps grant in 2021 to showcase women’s voices and Iraqi Maqam and recently performed at the 2022 Habibi Festival at NYC’s historic Joe’s Pub.

Marwa Morgan, a journalist and singer from Egypt, grew up surrounded by classical Egyptian music and started singing at an early age. Since moving to the United States in 2015, music has been a way for her to stay connected to her home country. She has performed with several ensembles in the US, including Takht Al-Nagham and The Middle East Music Orchestra at Rutgers University.

Erik Jönsson is a Brooklyn-based vocalist who began singing at a young age in his church's choir in the Hudson Valley. Decades later, he is still singing in church as a member of Trinity Church Wall Street's Downtown Voices, and has sung as a member of that choir at Carnegie Hall with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) as part of the Mark Morris Dance Group's production of L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, and Madison Square Garden in concert with Andrea Bocelli.

Erik received a B.M. from Ithaca College, where he studied clarinet performance. He remains an active clarinetist around New York City and frequently performs with orchestras like the Chelsea Symphony.

Outside of music, Erik is a software engineer at New York Times Cooking, and has worked with the Syrian Music Preservation Initiative to both build and launch their website and sing with its performing ensemble, Takht al-Nagham.

Stefan Paolini is a NYC-based singer, pianist, arranger, and educator who has taught and performed professionally for over 20 years. His influences include Western classical, rock, metal, pop, jazz, Latin, Hindustani, and West African musical traditions. He has performed at such venues as Le Poisson Rouge, Joe’s Pub, Webster Hall, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Minton’s Playhouse, as well as across the United States and Canada. Stefan believes in and upholds truth, love, and beauty as virtues to be cherished in this world in all their various manifestations.