Ramzi Aburedwan, buzuq

“Each artist is a dreamer, or should be,” says Ramzi when speaking of his musical journey. “Borders have been created by human beings. But through music we can dream, break down these borders. In music, I feel completely free… I can travel with the sounds wherever I want.” The musical oeuvres of Palestinian violist, bouzouq player, composer, arranger and artistic director Ramzi Aburedwan are the living sonic expression of this sentiment. Ramzi’s music spans and bridges the embodied pull of Palestinian folk music, the deep emotionality of tarab, the complex harmonic and polyphonic vocabulary of Western music, the spirituality of Sufi traditions, and the playfulness embedded in a variety of improvised world traditions. Ramzi is the founder, composer, musical director and driving spirit of several ensembles that have extensively toured Palestine and internationally to critical acclaim, including Dal’Ouna, Al Manara, The Palestine National Ensemble for Arabic Music, and The Jerusalem Sufi Ensemble. While a student in France, Ramzi founded Al-Kamandjâti, a nonprofit organization that today manages a multi-branch conservatory in Palestine and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, establishes introductory music programs in Palestinian schools, organizes events and festivals, and develops locally-based orchestras and ensembles. Ramzi is also the founder, producer and co-director for several annual music festivals in Palestine, including the Musical Journey for Spiritual and Traditional Music Festival, the Baroque Festival, and the Music Days Festival. The story of Ramzi’s life and of Al-Kamandjâti is the subject of several documentaries (It’s Not a Gun, 2005; L’archet de la Paix, 2012; Just Play, 2012), a play (Al-Kamandjâti Show, 2008) and a book (Children of the Stone: the Power of Music in a Hard Land, Sandy Tolan, Bloomsbury Press 2015). Ramzi is also a 2017 recipient of the Gandhi Foundation International Peace Award and of the Palestinian Cultural Personality of the year – 2017.