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Aga Khan Music Award finalist (2025) Rihab Azar is one of the few women oud players/composers taking the oud to new expressive, daring and unconventional horizons. She was the first woman oudist to play accompanied by the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music (2014) and was recognised by Arts Council England as a musician of exceptional promise (2016).While deeply rooted in the authentically Middle-Eastern character of the Oud, Rihab Azar’s music possesses a uniquely rich, intimate and daring identity of its own. Virtuosity, imagery, storytelling, and philosophical reflection infuse this programme with layers of uniqueness inviting the audience to a rich experience across genres, time and geography.
The quartet will play the original works of Rihab’s debut album Dandelion, alongside pieces by renowned composers M. AbdulWahab, Hamza El Din, Ahmad Alkhatib, Feras Charestan & Adnan Abushamat.
The audience is invited to immerse itself in an unconventional yet accessible, daring and intimate chamber music experience that is genre-defying and full of mastery, imagination and curiosity.
Musicians:
Rihab Azar oud
Hoda Jahanpour cello
Fra Rustumji violin
Ant Romero percussion
This event is suitable for audiences aged 12 and over.
This event will last for approximately 110 minutes including an interval.
Reviews
‘Infinitely tender and haunting’ The Arts Desk
‘A beautiful balance between tradition and dreamy experimentation’ God is in The TV
‘A highlight’ The Guardian
Rihab Azar
Aga Khan Music Award finalist (2025), Syrian oud player, composer and music facilitator, was born in Homs, Syria to a very musical family. Her father, luthier Samir Azar made her the first oud she played at the age of 7 and was her first teacher.
She continued her studies at the Conservatoire of Damascus under the supervision of multiple oud masters and was the first woman oudist to solo-perform accompanied by the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music (2014), and she was a member in a pioneering women-only ensemble throughout her early career years in Syria.
In 2015, Rihab received a Chevening scholarship, which enabled her to study Music Education at Master’s level at IOE, UCL. In 2016, Arts Council England Recognised Rihab as a musician of “exceptional promise” and throughout her work in the UK and abroad, Rihab has performed as a soloist as well as with different ensembles and orchestras such as the London Sinfonietta, Cantata Dramatica, The Third Orchestra, RNS & Theatre of Voices. She has collaborated on several interdisciplinary, creative, cross-genre projects and written music for radio, film & theatre.
Rihab also teaches music at several primary schools in South London and she was Wigmore Hall’s Trainee Music Leader for 2022-2023, working in different community settings. Her community workshop work has been in collaboration with several entities including Wigmore Hall, ASMF, The Horniman Museum, Sinfonia Viva & Cheltenham Jazz Festival.
Her compositions have been very well-received and described as “unique and unconventional” in how they present the oud in an intimate, fresh, playful, curious way whilst preserving the core characteristics that have come to give the oud its unique presence worldwide.
In 2023, The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) selected Rihab’s debut album to be one of the fundawarded projects.
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Event Venue
Kings Place, 90 York Way, King's Cross,London, United Kingdom
Tickets
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