Joseph Tawadros

• Name — Joseph Tawadros • Honorific Prefix — Dr • Born — 6 October 1983 • Died — YYYY MM DD • Origin — Cairo, Egypt • Instrument — Oud • Genre — Jazz, world, classical • Occupation — Musician, composer • Years Active — 1995—present • Website — josephtawadros.com

Tawadros' family emigrated from Egypt to Australia when he was three. Initially attracted to the trumpet, he decided to learn the oud when he was eight, after seeing a movie about Egyptian musician Sayed Darwish. He was School Captain at Randwick Boys High School, where he was taught by Derek Williams. Tawadros is classically trained, having completed a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of New South Wales, where he was awarded a Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music, and in 2025, an honorary doctorate. His brother James Tawadros, also educated at RBHS, is a musician who regularly plays percussion, notably the riq, with Joseph. In the 2000s, Tawadros also studied in Egypt with violin player Esawi Dagher, son of the renowned violin player Abdo Dagher. During the years that followed, Tawadros spent three months a year in Egypt and learned to play other instruments: the bamboo flute nay, the Arabic zither qanun and the cello. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012, Tawadros won Best World Music Album for Concerto of the Greater Sea (February 2012). He won the same category in 2013 for Chameleons of the White Shadow (February 2013), 2014 for Permission to Evaporate (May 2014) and 2020 for Live at the Sydney Opera House (June 2020). He also won Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album in 2017 for Ali's Wedding (September 2017).

Joseph Tawadros' style is described as "eclectic". According to Sydney Morning Herald, "He has taken the oud out of its traditional Middle Eastern setting and into the realm of classical music and jazz." Tawadros told Map Magazine, "I don't like to play in a particular genre, I love all sorts of music […] I try to record an album a year and one that's totally different from the previous album." He has collaborated with musicians such as John Abercrombie, Jack DeJohnette, Roy Ayers, Bela Fleck, Joey DeFrancesco, Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and The Academy of Ancient Music. Tawadros plays 52 instruments on his albums including oud, qanun, saz, violin, ney, Portuguese guitar, electric bass, kalimba and accordion. His brother James uses 11 percussion instruments.

List of albums with selected details • Title — Details • Storyteller — * Released: 2004 * Label: Versilia (VACD 104.2) * Format: CD • Rouhani (With Bobby Singh) — * Released: 2005 * Label: ABC Classics (4768078) * Format: CD • Visions (With James Tawadros) — * Released: February 2006 * Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2005) * Format: CD, DD • Epiphany (With James Tawadros and Ben Rodgers) — * Released: March 2007 * Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2007) * Format: CD, DD * Live album • Angel (With James Tawadros and Dimitri Vouros) — * Released: December 2008 * Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2008) * Format: CD, DD • The Prophet — * Released: March 2009 * Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2009) * Format: CD, DD * Note: Poems selected from The Prophet written in 1923 by poet Kahlil Gibran • The Hour of Separation — * Released: June 2010 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD • Band of Brothers (with Slava & Leonard Grigoryan and James Tawadros) — * Released: March 2011 * Label: ABC Classics (4764316) * Format: CD, DD • Concerto of the Greater Sea — * Released: February 2012 * Label: Joseph Tawadros (JT2012) * Format: CD, DD • Chameleons of the White Shadow — * Released: February 2013 * Label: ABC Classics (4810119) * Format: CD, DD • Permission to Evaporate — * Released: May 2014 * Label: ABC Classics * Format: CD, DD • Truth Seekers Lovers and Warriors — * Released: April 2015 * Label: ABC Classics (4811632) * Format: CD, DD • World Music — * Released: March 2016 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD • Live at Abbey Road (with James Tawadros) — * Released: July 2017 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD * Live album • Ali's Wedding (with Nigel Westlake, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Slava Grigoryan and Lior) — * Released: September 2017 * Label: ABC Classics * Format: CD, DD * Soundtrack album • The Bluebird, the Mystic and the Fool — * Released: April 2018 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD • Betrayal of a Sacred Sunflower — * Released: June 2019 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD • Live at the Sydney Opera House (with James Tawadros, Benjamin Northey and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) — * Released: 12 June 2020 * Label: ABC Music * Format: CD, DD, streaming * Live album • Hope in an Empty City — * Released: 9 June 2021 * Label: ABC Music * Format: CD, DD, streaming • History Has a Heartbeat — * Released: 19 August 2022 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD, streaming • Those Who Came Before Us — * Released: 14 July 2023 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD, streaming • The Virtue of Signals — * Released: 28 June 2024 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD, streaming • The Forgotten Path to Humanity — * Released: August 2025 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD, streaming • Conversations With Jack (with Jack DeJohnette, Yacouba Sissoko and James Tawadros) — * Released: 31 July 2026 * Label: Joseph Tawadros * Format: CD, DD, streaming

Tawadros was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2016 Australia Day Honours "for significant service to music as an accomplished oud performer, composer and recording artist".