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Brian Unger

Brian’s American music performing and producing career spans from the 1970’s to today. An accomplished musician, Brian has been a member of such bands as “American Tears”, “Industry”, and “MaddenRae”. In 1980, Brian also founded Paris Recording Studios in Long Island, New York, as a vehicle for his own compositions and as an incubator for the local music scene. Brian is currently focusing on helping singer songwriters realize the full potential of their music through arranging and production.

ECHO Musical Cultural Association

ECHO - SADA is a registered non-profit, non government, cultural musical arts society, formed by amateurs of serious music to promote the Syrian musical life.  Naturally arising from an evolving cultural-musical movement in Syria and the rapidly increasing number of academically trained music graduates, ECHO was established to assist in securing a sustainable, successful and continuously growing musical movement in Syria.  ECHO's objective is to assist Syrian musicians as well as their bands, orchestras, establishments, and associations and raise awareness of the Syrian musical movement on the local and international level.

Shafi Badreddin

Shafi Badreddin is a Syrian composer of instrumental, orchestral, and electro-acoustic music. He studied the oud, clarinet, and musical theory at the Damascus Conservatoire, where he has also taught.
As an oud player he enjoyed long runs in Damascus’s Oriental Music Orchestra and the National Symphonic Orchestra, including stints as first and solo clarinetist.Badreddin’s current focus is on conducting and composing.

Twais Quartet

Twais is a classical oriental "takht" (oud, nay, qanoun and percussions) that seeks to find a personal voice for itself, while remaining true to classical Arabic music. Essam Rafea created the group in 2004. Twais is named after the first singer of the Islamic era who was praised for the beauty of his voice and his originality as he introduced Iqaa (beats) into singing in the 7th century. He was born in Al Madina Al Munawra (Currently in Saudi Arabia), and died in Sweida – Syria. It is this spirit of innovation and originality that the Quartet is aspiring and striving to represent.
The project of the musicians is to search the roots of the Arab and Oriental Music with focus on the instrumental music and to include them in contemporary forms, using different musical schools and contemporary compositions, in an attempt to create a unique style of music.

MAqam

MAqam is about capturing the soul of Middle-Eastern music and presenting it in an innovative style. MAqam consists of 5 young musicians (4 string players and percussion) from Syria and the Arab world sharing the highest level of music education as well as a special talent and passion for their work.

The repertoire of MAqam includes original works composed especially for the group by MAias Alyamani, who also rearranges for the ensemble traditional music from all around the Middle Eastern and Arab world in a unique style that suits modern musicial tastes and showcases the virtuosity of the musicians.

Women’s Takht

Women’s Takht, Syria’s first all-female music group, is composed of female graduates of Damascus’s High Institute of Music who joined together in 2003 to perform traditional Syrian and oriental music. The word 'takht' (literally bed or podium) is the name for the traditional musical ensemble in the Middle East, and in keeping with this they comprise musicians on a number of traditional instruments, including the oud, ney, qanun, violin and riq, plus a vocalist. Members of the group are: Wafaa Safar (ney), Rihab Azar (oud), Dima Mawazeny (qanun), Razan Kassar (violin), Khisab Khaled (riq), and Silvi Solaiman (vocal).

Hewar Band

Jazz fusion band Hewar is rapidly being recognized as one of Syria's leading groups both in the country and beyond. Hewar aims not just to entertain. The band's name means 'dialogue' and the band brings together different musical cultures and influences to breakdown musical and cultural barriers.

Fattet Laabet

Since 2004, jazz outfit Fattet Laabet has produced a unique fusion sound. The band recovers the region's musical heritage by taking Oriental music and bringing it to life through contemporary musical genres such as jazz. Fattet Laabet have performed at the annual Jazz Lives in Syria festival as well as at other locations around the country.