The Dal'ouna Ensemble, led by world renowned musician Ramzi Aburedwan, returns with a rich repertoire that extends from Egypt to Andalucia passing through various regions and traditions of the Middle East, and adding medieval and jazz accents to a musical confluence of East and West.

Touring with the ensemble are violist and bouzuk player Ramzi Aburedwan and percussionist Tareq Rantisi from Palestine, oud player Ziad Ben Youssef from Tunisia, accordion virtuoso Edwin Buger from France (Yugoslavian born), with special guest vocalists Oday Khatib (Palestine) and Dallas based vocalist Nisreen Hajaj.

BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS AND AUTHOR

RAMZI ABUREDWAN grew up in the Al Amari refugee camp in Ramallah, where his family took refuge after being driven out of their home in Palestine in 1948. The violence of the first Palestinian intifada (1987-1993) marked Ramzi’s childhood and adolescence. At age 16, Ramzi participated in a musical workshop, which proved to be a life-changing experience. From 1996 to 1998 he studied at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah. In 1998-2005, Ramzi received a scholarship to study viola at the National Regional Conservatory of Angers (France). Ramzi graduated with a DEM in viola, and chamber music. At the French conservatory, Ramzi met up with other students with whom he create the Dal’Ouna Ensemble in 2000. Today Ramzi splits his career amongst many projects. He is concert performer, bandleader of Dal’Ouna, musical director, composer and arranger for the Palestine National Arabic Music Ensemble, and viola soloist performing Western classical music with chamber music ensembles and orchestras throughout the Middle East and Europe. Ramzi’s deep engagement with Palestinian youth led him to realize a lifelong dream in 2005: the creation of the Al Kamandjati Association. Al Kamandjati’s mission is to bring musical education to Palestinian children and, in particular, to thosewho are most vulnerable – the children of the refugee camps. Al Kamandjati teaches more than 500 children per year from the refugee camps of Al Amari, Jalazon, Tulkarm and Qalandia, in the village of Deir Ghassana, and the cities of Ramallah, Jenin, Gaza City and Hebron in Palestine. In Lebanon, Al Kamandjâti runs music schools in the refugee camps of Bourj el Barajneh and Shatila.

TAREQ RANTISI was born in Jerusalem, Palestine. Self-taught, he began his career playing Middle- Eastern percussion and has performed in concerts and music festivals throughout the Arab world and Europe. In 2008, Tareq received the Al-Qattan Foundation Music Scholarship to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in the US, receiving a degree in Percussion Performance and graduating with honors, covering jazz to Afro-Cuban to Carnatic Indian to Brazilian and more. He has performed with Paul Winter, Simon Shaheen, Aaron Goldberg, Srinivas Krishnan, Victor Mendoza, Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, Bruno Råberg, Javier Limón, Pepe de Lucía, Glen Velez and many other virtuosic musicians, composers and ensembles. Tareq has also developed a body of educational work, offering master classes, workshops and private lessons throughout the world in collaboration with Arabic Music Retreat, Brandeis University, The Center for Arabic Culture, NAFDA, The Gaza Music School, Qattan Foundation, Al Kamandjâti Association, Kufiyyeh Center of Music, and the Yamaha Music School.

ZIAD BEN YOUSSEF’s passion for the oud began in his native Tunisia, encouraged by some local masters who introduced him to the world of "Eastern Maqam", the main foundation of oriental music with roots in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Armenian traditions. His musical path was forged with the Bashir brothers, Ali Sriti, Farid Ghosn, Anouar Brahem, Saliha, Manolo Sanlucar, Sabicas and many others. Ziad continues to pursue his goal of expanding the boundaries of this instrument vis à vis improvisation and exploration of diverse musical traditions, including Flamenco, Eastern European, jazz and other contemporary music. Ziad has ventured into the world of theater and has participated in numerous projects such as "The Thousand and One Nights "with English director Tim Supple, poetry performances, and film soundtracks: “Happiness” (Alexander Medvidkine), “Kedaba” (ElHachmia Didi Alaoui), “ADN, Ame de la terre” (Thierry Obadia), and "Tomb of the Lovers" performed live at the Louvre Auditorium.

EDWIN BUGER, renowned accordionist and multi-instrumentalist from France and born in Yugoslavia, discovered his love of music early on, thanks to his father who plays guitar and sings. At age 12 he began to perform at weddings, and at 16 he played guitar and accordion for dances with numerous bands in Bavaria where his parents had settled. In his late teens, Edwin played in the rock band “Sauerkirsch” and soon thereafter took up the saxophone and performed in the French Legion marching band for five years before he was sent to the military conservatory in Versailles. He later settled down in Toulouse and played dance music in the villages in the Pyrénées region. His next move was to Bordeaux where he was introduced to the music of Madagascar and Martinique, French gypsy jazz, and a broad range of Arab and African traditions. He released his first jazz album in 2010 featuring Ziad Ben Youssef on Oud and Thierry Lujan on guitar. When he’s not touring and performing, he is the church organist in his home community. His musical horizons are forever expanding.