Naseer Shamma performs at el-Sawy Culturewheel

Iraq's Naseer Shamma, musician and famed oud player, performed at El Sawy Culturewheel on Thursday 27 February.
Shamma is most celebrated for giving the traditional string instrument a more contemporary sound.
The performance marks 12 years since the inception of El Sawy Culturewheel, an important platform for young musicians.
Shamma established Beit Al-Oud Al-Arabi (The Arabic Oud House) to teach people how to play what he calls the "grandfather" of stringed instruments.
He introduced the oud to dozens of young musicians, with many of them describing Shamma as a "free spirit, an innovative, open and forceful artist."
Conscripted into the army under Saddam Huseein's regime, Shamma served as a soldier during the first US-led war on Iraq in 1991.
Source: Ahram Online