Interview with Palestinian Huda Asfour, Musician and Biomedical Engineer

NAAP Podcast

Lara and Amr sit down with the talented vocalist and musician, Huda Asfour. Huda is a performer, composer and engineer who has worked, studied, and collaborated with artists in Tunisia, Gaza, Ramallah, Egypt, Lebanon and the United States. Huda’s formal training in music began in Tunis at the age of 13, though her musical origins began much earlier, among a family of musicians. In 1996, she joined the National Conservatory of Music in Gaza and later, in Ramallah she was mentored by Khaled Jubran at the Edward Said Music Conservatory. In 2002, Huda joined Al Urmawi Center for Mashriq Music. As part of her tenure at Al Urnawi, Huda attended multiple workshops for young musicians covering the fundamentals of Irani and Indian music as it relates to Maqam. Huda also trained under the famous Qanoun player Said Rajab in Cairo, Egypt. In 2004, Huda, together with Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, co-founded Jehar band, a musical experiment which molded Arabic folk and the classical Levantine Arabic repertoire from their traditional presentations into reinterpretations that would be relatable to young Palestinians emerging from the siege of the Second Intifada. Her story and work are featured on her website at www.hudaasfour.com. Her latest album Kouni, which can be heard throughout this episode, are available for download at soundcloud.com/asfoura and asfoura.bandcamp.com Happy listening :) -HyphenatedArabs