Sami Abu Shumays
“I see my fellow Taproot Artists as heroes and warriors for cultural survival and independence, and I am humbled to walk among them.”
Sami Abu Shumays
Photo by Sami Abu Shumays.
Photo by Sami Abu Shumays.
Inside Arabic Music - book cover. Photo by Sami Abu Shumays.
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Raising a Palestinian voice to uplift our arts, culture, & basic humanity
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.”
Sami Abu Shumays
What does being a Taproot Fellow mean to you in your practice and community?
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.
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Lydia “Louise” Goings (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
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David Comingdeer (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma)
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Flint District of the Cherokee Nation (Stilwell, OK)
TJ Sgwaayaans Young (Kaigani Haida)
Haida Wood Carver
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Van-Anh Vanessa Vo
Vietnamese Traditional Musician & Composer
El Cerrito, CA
Reba Jo Teran (Eastern Shoshone)
Traditional Shoshone Saddle Maker & Bead Worker
Fort Washakie, WY
Raymond Wong
Traditional Chinese Lion Dancer & Martial Artist
Chinatown, Washington, DC
Ramón Rivera
Mariachi Musician & Educator
Mount Vernon, WA
Omar Santiago Fuentes
Puerto Rican Troubadour, Improviser of Verse & Décimas
Hatillo, Puerto Rico
Manuel A Delgado
Old-World Luthier
Nashville, TN
Lani Strong Hotch (Chilkat-Tlingit)
Chilkat/Ravenstail Weaver & Textile Artist
Klukwan, AK
Kewulay Kamara
Mandeng Finah Poet & Storyteller
Jackson Heights, NY
Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
Haudenosaunee Raised Beadworker
Stevens Point, WI
Inna Kovtun
Ukrainian Ethno-Singer & Folklorist
Portland, OR
Hamid Al-Saadi
Iraqi Maqam Vocalist
Brooklyn, NY
Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk)
Indigenous Chef
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Dena Jennings
Affrolachian Musician & Culture Bearer
Nasons, VA
Chum Ngek
Cambodian Musician & Ritual Artist
Gaithersburg, MD
Billy Branch
Blues Musician
Chicago, IL
Chef BJ Dennis
Gullah Geechee Chef & Cultural Bearer
Charleston, SC
Brett Ratliff
Traditional Appalachian Musician
Stamping Ground, KY
Bruce Bradley
Tap Dancer
Flint, MI
Annetta Koruh (Hopi)
Hopi Weaver
Village Bacavi, Third Mesa-Hopi land, Arizona (Bacavi, AZ)
Alejandro López
Chicano Muralist
Santa Cruz, NM
Wayne Henderson
Appalachian Luthier & Musician
Mouth of Wilson, VA
Willard John
Moko Jumbie Stilt Dancer
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Veronica Castillo
Mexican Polychromatic Ceramicist
San Antonio, TX
Theresa Secord
Penobscot Basketmaker
Farmington, ME
Stan Rodriguez
Kumeyaay Culture Bearer
Santa Ysabel, CA
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto
Japanese Koto Musician
Oakland, CA
Shaka Zulu
New Orleans Black Masking craftsman & stiltdancer
New Orleans, LA
Sami Abu Shumays
Arab Musician
Queens, New York, NY
Roy & PJ Hirabayashi
Japanese American Taiko Musicians
San Jose, CA
Pedro Adorno Irizarry
Puerto Rican theater artist and director
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Ofelia Esparza & Rosanna Esparza Ahrens
Chicana Altaristas
East Los Angeles, CA
Meklit Hadero
Ethio-Jazz Vocalist & Composer
San Francisco, CA
King Khazm
Hip Hop Artist
Seattle, WA
Juan Longoria, Jr.
Conjunto Accordionist & Educator
Los Fresnos, TX
Jontavious Willis
Blues Musician
Luthersville, GA
Jesus M. Cepeda Brenes
Afro-Puerto Rican Musician & Folklorist
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Iris Brown
Puerto Rican Foodways & Agriculture
Philadelphia, PA
Gertie Lopez
Tohono O'odham Waila Musician
Tucson, AZ
Eva Ybarra
Conjunto Accordionist & Bandleader
San Antonio, TX
Dr. Dwayne Tomah
Passamaquoddy Language Keeper
Edmunds, ME
Deborah Gourneau
Anishinaabe (Chippewa) Culture Bearer
Belcourt, ND
Dani Pikolakitisaata Tippmann
Miami Plant Tradition-Bearer
Myaamionki (Fort Wayne, IN)
Bill Harris
Catawba Master Potter
McConnells, SC
Carolyn Mazloomi
Quiltmaker
West Chester, OH
Adrienne Benjamin | Amikogaabawiikwe
Jingle Dress Maker, Cultural Artist
Chiminising, Misizaagaiganing (Isle, MN)
Anwan “Big G” Glover
Go-Go Music Pioneer
Washington D.C.