Folk Bands and Artists
Maya Youssef
The ‘Queen of the Qanun’ is an artist who crosses boundaries in music and culture. Born in Damascus, she came to the UK in 2012 and her performances at London’s Southbank, Womad, BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall and The Barbican have revealed why she was described as an ‘exceptional talent’. Maya pushes the boundaries of the Qanun, a 78 stringed plucked zither traditionally played by men, leaving many to describe her as a virtuoso.
Maya’s intense and thoughtful music is rooted in the Arabic classical tradition but forges pathways into jazz, Western classical and Latin styles. It explores the emotional and healing qualities of music. For her, the act of playing music is the opposite of death and destruction; it is a life- and hope-affirming act and an antidote to what is happening, not only in Syria, but in the whole world.
Exploring the loss and grief in leaving Syria, the album ‘Finding Home’ depicts the discovery of a place that gives a state of calm and how we can find a sense of home, even when we are far from the place of our birth.
