Munir Bashir

Munir Bashir was born into a Syriac Christian family of luthiers and musicians in Mosul. Studying under the legendary Turkish master Sharif Muhiddin Haydar at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad, he later earned a doctorate in musicology from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest under the mentorship of Zoltán Kodály.

Bashir transformed the oud from an accompanying instrument into a profound solo concert vehicle. His introspective, meditative improvisations (taqasim) combined strict Iraqi maqam traditions with avant-garde modal exploration, performing sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, the Olympia in Paris, and across Europe, earning UNESCO's highest cultural awards.