Naseer Shamma:

Naseer Shamma was born in 1963 in Al-Kut, a southern city in Iraq. He studied at Baghdad’s Institute of Music and, In 1987, received a diploma in musical art. Later he specialized in the Oud.

Since he started his professional career, Naseer has been composing his own music. Giving concerts in various parts of the world has become his main concern. He is now one of the most esteemed and prolific Oud musicians.

In addition to holding concerts, Naseer is currently director of the Beit Al-Oud Al-Arabi at Al-Harawi – Cairo, which was founded by him in 1998.

Naseer performs on the Oud in a manner which combines ancient methods with his own original modern compositions. Naseer Shamma is the only musician to

have constructed an eight-string Oud or Lute following the manuscript of the famous 9th century music theorist Al-Farabi. This new design (eight instead of six strings)

expanded the musical range of the Oud and gave it a distinct tonality.

His innovations go beyond that to include a new method of playing the Oud using one hand. This allows handicapped people to play and enjoy the instrument.