Name
Essam Rafea

Nickname (and why!)
None

Education
Graduate of the High Institute of Music in Damascus / Major: Oud and conducting Arabic Music bands

Main instrument played
Oud

Other instruments played
Contrabass

Type of music played
Oriental, oriental jazz

The band you play with
The National Orchestra for Arab Music, conductor
Tuwais Quartet
Hewar Quintet
Musique de le Meier

Tell us about the last gig you played
The last gig I played was with Twais quartet. We were invited by Musique de le Meier in collaboration with the French Cultural Centre in Damascus. We worked together for about 2 months in Damascus, and then toured in Syria, Kuwait and France with our music

Tell us what music means to you
Music, to me, is accuracy and chaos…. When I play, I have to be very accurate in the timing and to know all the details of the piece so that I don’t miss the time and mess with the piece

On the other hand, when I play music, I feel I need to forget everything about timing and accuracy and focus on only one thing: getting the feeling of the music across to the audience

Tell us about the last album you listened to
The album title is Zina by Manfred Leuchter. I played as a guest musician on this album that was produced a couple of months ago

Which musician do you most admire and why?
I greatly admire the Turkish Qanoun player and composer Goksel Baktagir. I feel he has a great ability to get the music and the feel of it across to those listening to him.

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know!
I believe strongly about work. No matter where you are in the music, there is always a lot ahead of you to learn. This can only be done through work and continuous work.