Mireille is an award winning Dutch-Syrian soprano singer based in Amsterdam. She is the founder and artistic director of Mozaiek Ensemble. In 2018, she achieved a Master degree in Music at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and in 2013 she gained her Bachelor’s degree in Music from the High Institute of Music in Damascus.

Founder and artistic director of Mozaiek Ensemble. A Syrian pianist, composer and music arranger, specialized in composing and arranging eastern and Arabic music.

Graduated from The Arabic Institute of Music as a pianist in 1992, studied the piano with professors Vladimir Zaritsky, Cynthia El-Wadi and Gaswan Zerikly.

A member of the Syrian Artists Association since 1998. Played the piano with big stars in the Arab world: Mayada El-Hennawy (1994-1996), Majida Al-Roumi (2000-2008), George Wassouf, Abdallah Al-Rowaished, Nour Mhanna, Samira Said, Elias Karam and Melhem Barakat.

He was the conductor of several singers’ bands in the Arab world including: Asala Nasri – Moeen Sherif – Rida – Houwaida – Rouwaida Attieh – Melhem Zein and others.

Composed and arranged many musical pieces, some of them are short songs and some are instrumental music without singing. On an assignment for opera Spanga 2018 he composed the Arabic March, inspired by Verdi’s triumphal march from the Opera Aida.

Feras comes from a musical family, he is the oldest son of Assad Khoury (1953) and the grandson of the famous musician Muhanna al – Khouri. Father Assad Khoury founded one of the first recording studios in Syria, the “Al Rabea studio” in 1985. The studio worked for the most important singers and musicians from the Arab world. Sayed Makkawi, Hulmi Bake, Mouhamad Soultan, Mayada Al-Hinnawi, Abdallah Ruwaished, Assala Nasri, Elias Karam and many others.

After becoming a member of the“Syrian Artist Association”in 1988, Feras worked together with his father in the studio and besides that as an arranger, composer and pianist with the Syrian Radio and Television. Until the attacks on the studios mid-2012. Unfortunately none of the archives with recordings are accessible.

Feras is a classical trained musician by his education, but he also learned everything about eastern music by his origin and work for the studios. The combination of this knowledge and experience can be found in his compositions and arrangements. A crossover of eastern and western-classical music.

Beste Sevindik studied violin at Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory with Ceylan Kabakci and completed her Master’s degree with Sonja van Beek at Prince Claus Conservatoire as laureate of the Klaas Dijkstra Stipendium which she obtained at the Peter the Great Festival 2013. As chamber musician she has performed several times in Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey. In addition to her work on the stage, Beste works in projects which explore the role of musicians in society, such as Meaningful Music in Healthcare, in which music is made for surgical patients and their care staff at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG).

A Syrian bass player, graduated from the High Institute of Music in Damascus in 2006. Worked with the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra from 2003 until 2015. Worked with the Arabic Orchestra in Damascus. Worked with Algerian Symphonic Orchestra 2014/2015. Member in the “West Eastern Divan” Orchestra conducted by maestro Daniel Barenboim in 2005/2006.

Dutch celloplayer. As a soloist and chamber musician he is known from the Cello8ctet Amsterdam, Cuarteto Sol Tango and Duo Verzaro. Since 2012 he is founder and artistic director of the Cervo Chamber Music festival.
He studied with Monique Bartels and Paul Uyterlinde at the Royal Conservatory The Hague and the Twents Conservatory Enschede. In 2004 he achieved his bachelor of music in 2004 and in 2009 his master of music at the Musikhochschule in Lübeck with Troels Svane.

He won several prizes with the EnAccord String Quartet and played with different ensembles. He was also a part of the company of Herman van Veen, Erik van der Wurff, Jann Cnossen en Edith Leerkes, and played with Carel Kraayenhof.

A French flutist, now a Master student at the Conservatory of Amsterdam in the Baroque music department. Freelancer with Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Radio Philharmonic, Zuid-Nederland Philharmonic, Gulbenkian Lisboa, Palau De Los arts Valencia, BBC concert London, Orchestre du capitol de Toulouse.

Kanun player and composer Khalil Khoury is quickly building a reputation as one of the new generation’s most versatile and creative Palestinian musicians – admired for his extraordinary sensibility and musicality.

A graduate of the Edward Saïd National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM) in Ramallah and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Khalil is currently pursuing a highly selective advanced diploma program at the Abbey Road Institute in Amsterdam in sound engineering and music production.

As a multi-instrumentalist player, Khalil is a former prize-winner at the 2006, 2010 and 2012 Palestinian National Music Competition for his unique Kanun playing. At the age of 12, he had the privilege of being selected among the top three musicians from Palestine to participate in a masterclass of world-renowned Palestinian Oud player Simon Shaheen. A decisive experience in his career. In 2013, Khalil has been appointed Professor of Kanun at the Edward Said National Conservatory. A position he has held until 2020.

His recent solo engagements include performances in Bahrain, Qatar, France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands and in the UK. In 2015, Khalil was invited to perform at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and took part a year later in the UK tour of Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti as Kanun player, including a concert at the London Union Chapel. Most recently, Khalil has been invited to perform at the prestigious Aga Khan Music Awards in Lisbon and made his debut at The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in a unique concert-tribute to iconic Lebanese singer Fairuz. In December 2019, Khalil had the honour to play at the Prince Claus Awards ceremony at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, in the presence of the Dutch Royal Family.

Since the beginning of his career Khalil has been collaborating with lot of wide range musicians and local bands. He has been featured on a serie of albums and music projects as instrumentalist, sound engineer, arranger and composer, including: “Kazdara” album, Yalalan’s first album, Dalal Abu Amneh’s “Ya Sitti” album, and a number of singles with Nai Barghouti, amongst other artists.

As a composer and arranger Khalil has recently composed, recorded, arranged and produced different musical projects that carry on his own musical vision. One of his latest releases, “Ecliptic”, has been viewed and admired by thousands of people on social media. He is currently working on his debut album.

Khalil is constantly searching for new forms of expression to equally appeal to his “Eastern” and “Western” listeners. His music is strongly influenced by Arabic/Eastern melodies and rhythms. His penchant for Arabic scales and modalities smoothly blends with his inspiration from jazz, flamenco andIndian music to create a unique and captivating sound. His music hold a rich rhythmical language, combined with his heartfelt melodies.

● The Kanun is a string instrument, famous for its unique melodramatic sound. It has 78 tuning tones. The Kanun is not very well known with the western public but is one of the most important instruments in eastern music. In Arab music there are whole, half and quarter notes (in Turkish music even eighth notes).

A Syrian drummer and percussionist and riq player. He studied classical and Oriental percussion at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus. He played with the Syrian National Orchestra, the Syrian Big Band and many other international projects in China, Jordan, Tunisia, Austria, Germany, Lebanon and Egypt. He is now working in the Netherlands on a number of projects as an Arabic percussion player and drummer and he is creating his own style influenced by the soul of the Orient.

● The Riq is a type of Tambourine and a traditional instrument in Arab music. It consists of a woorden frame covered with goat skin and has ten pairs of small cymbals mounted in five pairs of slits.