Al-Ashkar Basem

Born in Qatar in 1981, Bassem Al-Ashkar is a Palestinian musician. He is a performer (violin, oud), composer, culturologist and teacher. He moved to Russia in 2000, where he studied music. Winner of national and international competitions, in Moscow he founded the Octavio string chamber orchestra and the multimedia project Uzuf. He is soloist with the Questa Musica orchestra (oud) and a member of Octopus (experimental improvisation). He founded the Moscow Andalusian Music Ensemble. Author of scientific articles on the musical culture of the Arab world, his musical projects explore a variety of musical cultures and periods, from folklore to academic tradition, from Renaissance and Baroque to electroacoustics. He taught culturology at the Moscow State Institute of Culture until his departure from Russia. He is a member of the Artists in Exile Workshop.