Joseph Tawadros (born 6 October 1983) is an Egyptian-born Coptic Australian multi-instrumentalist and

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

virtuoso. Tawadros has won the

ARIA Award for Best World Music Album The ARIA Music Award for Best World Music Album, is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was inaugurated in 1995 as Best Folk/World/Traditional Release. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achieveme ...

five times:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

. and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Biography

His family emigrated from Egypt to Australia when he was three. Initially attracted to the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, he decided to learn the

when he was eight, after seeing a movie about Egyptian musician

Sayed Darwish Sayed Darwish ( ar, سيد درويش, ; 17 March 1892 – 15 September 1923) was an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music and one of Egypt's greatest musicians and seen by some as its single gr ...

. He is classically trained, having completed a bachelor of music at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

, where he was awarded a Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music. His brother James Tawadros is also a musician. In the 2000s, he also studied in Egypt with violin player Esawi Dagher, son of the legendary violin player Abdo Dagher. During the years that followed, he spent three months a year in Egypt and learned to play other instruments: the bamboo flute nay, the Arabic zither qanun and the cello. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2012 The 26th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) were a series of award ceremonies which included the 2012 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fi ...

, he won

Best World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

for ''

Concerto of the Greater Sea ''Concerto of the Greater Sea'' is a studio album by Australian, multi-instrumentalist and oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros. The album was self-released in February 2012. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012, the album won the ARIA Award for Best World M ...

'' (February 2012). He won the same category in

for ''

Chameleons of the White Shadow ''Chameleons of the White Shadow'' is a studio album by Australian, multi-instrumentalist and oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros. The album was self-released in February 2013. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013, the album won the ARIA Award for Best Worl ...

'' (February 2013),

for ''

Permission to Evaporate ''Permission to Evaporate'' is a studio album by Australian, multi-instrumentalist and oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros. The album was self-released in May 2014. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2014, the album won the ARIA Award for Best World Music Albu ...

'' (May 2014) and

for '' Live at the Sydney Opera House'' (June 2020). He also won Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

for ''

Ali's Wedding ''Ali's Wedding'' is a 2017 Cinema of Australia, Australian romantic comedy feature film from Matchbox Pictures. It is directed by Jeffrey Walker (actor), Jeffrey Walker and written by Osamah Sami and stars Sami, Helana Sawires, Don Hany and Rya ...

'' (September 2017).

Style

Joseph Tawadros' style is described as eclectic. According to '' Sydney Morning Herald'', "he has taken the oud out of its traditional Middle Eastern setting and into the realm of classical music and jazz". "I don't like to play in a particular genre, I love all sorts of music", Tawadros explains, "I try to record an album a year and one that's totally different from the previous album". He has collaborated with musicians such as John Abercrombie, Jack DeJohnette,

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Po ...

, Bela Fleck,

Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...

, the

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 September 2005. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently appo ...

and

The Academy of Ancient Music The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name (originally the Ac ...

. Tawadros plays 52 instruments on his albums including oud, qanun, saz, violin, ney, Portuguese guitar, electric bass, kalimba and accordion. His brother James uses 11 percussion instruments.

Discography

Albums

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. ! , - ,

AIR Awards of 2014 The AIR Awards of 2014 (or Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards of 2014) is the ninth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at The Meat Market, North Me ...

, ''Permission to Evaporate'' , Best Independent Jazz Album Album , , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2018 The AIR Awards of 2018 is the twelfth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Queen's Theatre Adelaide, Australia on Thursday 26 July 2017. In 2018, ...

, ''Live at Abbey Road'' , Best Independent Jazz Album Album , , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2020 The 2020 AIR Awards was the fourteenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards ceremony (generally known as the AIR Awards). It took place on 1 October 2020 in Adelaide. The nominations were revealed on 7 July 20 ...

, ''Betrayal of a Sacred Sunflower'' , Best Independent Classical Album , , , - , AIR Awards of 2021 , ''Live at the Sydney Opera House''
, Best Independent Classical Album or EP , , , - ,

AIR Awards of 2022 The 2022 AIR Awards is the sixteenth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards ceremony (generally known as the AIR Awards). It took place on 4 August 2022 in Adelaide. The nominations were revealed on 18 May 2022 wi ...

, ''Hope in an Empty City'' , Best Independent Jazz Album or EP , ,

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Tawadros has won seven awards from nineteen nominations. , - , 2004 , ''Storyteller'' ,

, , - , 2006 , ''Visions'' (with James Tawadros) , Best World Music Album , , - , 2007 , ''Epiphany'' , Best World Music Album , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, ''Angel'' , Best World Music Album , , - , rowspan="2", 2010 , ''The Prophet'' , Best World Music Album , , - , ''The Hours of Separation'' , Best Jazz Album , , - , 2011 , ''Band of Brothers'' (with Slava & Leonard Grigoryan & James Tawadros) , Best World Music Album , , - ,

, ''Concerto of the Greater Sea'' , Best World Music Album , , - ,

, ''Chameleons of the White Shadow'' , Best World Music Album , , - ,

, ''Permission to Evaporate'' , Best World Music Album , , - , 2015 , ''Truth Seekers, Lovers and Warriors'' , Best World Music Album , , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, ''World Music'' , Best World Music Album , , - , rowspan="2",

, ''Live at Abbey Road'' , Best World Music Album , , - , ''Ali's Wedding'' , Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album , , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, ''The Bluebird, The Mystic and the Fool'' , Best World Music Album , , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, ''Betrayal of a Sacred Sunflower'' , Best World Music Album , , - ,

, ''Live at the Sydney Opera House'' , Best World Music Album , , - ,

, ''Hope in an Empty City'' , Best World Music Album , , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, ''History Has a Heartbeat'' , Best World Music Album ,

References

External links

Official website

Interview and highlights of a concert in Sarajevo Jazz Festival 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tawadros, Joseph 1983 births ARIA Award winners Living people Australian oud players Australian classical musicians Australian people of Coptic descent Australian people of Egyptian descent Coptic musicians Egyptian emigrants to Australia Musicians from Cairo Members of the Order of Australia

Biography

Style

Discography

Albums

Awards

AIR Awards

ARIA Music Awards

See also

References

External links