Oudist Najib Shaheen will be performing with members of Simon Shaheen's Near East Music Ensemble, with special guest Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon and Deacon Naji Yousuf. The performance will be followed by a discussion of the shared musical histories between Jewish, Islamic, and Christian music traditions in the context of Israel and Palestine, led by moderator Nili Belkind, PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at Columbia University.
Najib Shaheen is an oudist and oud maker specializing in restoration. He has been building and restoring all types of Middle Eastern Ouds for over twenty-five years. He started studying oud from a young age under his father, the late ustaz Hikmat Shaheen. He established with his brother Simon Shaheen the Near East Music Ensemble in 1981. For the last 30 years he has also performed with Simon Shaheen’s Al-Qantara and Near Eastern Music Ensemble. He was awarded by the National Endowment of the Arts in 1994.