Sami Abu Shumays

One of the leading Arab violinists in the U.S., Sami Abu Shumays is internationally known as a master of the maqam system. He is co-author of the acclaimed book Inside Arabic Music (Oxford University Press 2019), and his passion for teaching and oral tradition is also expressed through his YouTube series “Maqam Lessons,” the website www.maqamlessons.com, and his contributions to www.maqamworld.com. Co-founder and director of the NYC-based Arabic music and dance ensemble Zikrayat, Sami released his first solo album Circles in 2023, available on all streaming platforms. In 2024 he was named a master folk artist through the New York State Council on the Arts Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. Sami has led Zikrayat since 2005, which has been featured at GlobalFEST, numerous venues in New York City and nationwide. Zikrayat has recorded two albums: Live At Lotus (which won a 2008 Independent Music Award) and Cinematic.

A second-generation Palestinian-American, Sami originally studied Western music before traveling to the Arab World to reconnect with his roots. He studied with Alfred Gamil in Cairo; Mohamed Qasas, Abdel-Basit Bakkar, and Abdel-Minaim Senkary in Aleppo; and Simon Shaheen and Yusuf Kassab in New York. Sami has a bachelor’s degree in Western music theory and composition from Harvard University, several years of graduate work in composition and ethnomusicology at the CUNY Graduate Center, and received a Fulbright Fellowship to study Arabic music and language in Cairo, Egypt.

The Palestinian and Arab Communities in the U.S. are subject to prejudice, discrimination, and the silencing of our voices and narratives; in that context, it is incredibly meaningful to be validated as an artist -— to be given an opportunity to raise a Palestinian voice in a cultural way, to uplift our arts, culture, and basic humanity.

I feel deeply honored to be in this cohort of folk artists doing such important work for cultural transmission. All our communities carry deeply rooted traditions in danger of being wiped out, homogenized, or watered down. I see my fellow Taproot Artists as heroes and warriors for cultural survival and independence, and I am humbled to walk among them.