Syrian Ornaments

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.

Born in 1946 in Aleppo, Syria, Oud virtuoso and musicologist Muhammed Qadri Dalal has performed with most of the important traditional singers from the 70s on, such as Sabah Fakhri, Sabri Mudallal, and Adib al-Dayekh.  He is one of the most important figures of music in the Arab world.

An apprentice of Bakri al-Kurdi, Mr. Dalal is a composer, group leader, educator, music critic, and prolific scholar who has written extensively about traditional music and the musical figures influencing the tradition over time. 

Numerous traditional singers from Aleppo studied with him, and he wrote works for many singers from Syria and the Arab world, such as Omar Sarmini, Shadi Jameel, Abboud Bashir, and Ahmad Azraq from Aleppo, and Lotfi Boshnaq from Tunisia to name a few. He is considered to be an authority in the maqam tradition.

He toured with the al-Kindi Ensemble around the globe. He was the director of Sabah Fakhri Conservatory in Aleppo, Syria (2004-2009) and since 2013, he has been teaching as an Arab music professor at the Conservatory of Alexandria, Egypt.

He performed with SMPI's Takht al-Nagham in many concerts and in different states from New York to Florida to Washington D.C.

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.