Naseer Shamma

• Name — Naseer Shamma • Birthplace — Kut, Iraq • Born — 1963 • Origin — Iraq • Genre — Music of Iraq, Arabic Music, Oud • Occupation — Oud player • Years Active — 1987 - present • Website — https: www.shammamusic.com/

He was born in 1963 in Kut, a city on the Tigris River. He began studying the oud at the age of 12 in Baghdad, following in the footsteps of Jamil and Munir Bashir. He received his diploma from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. He began to teach oud after three years at the academy, as well as continuing his own studies. Shamma has composed music for films, plays and television. He founded the Arabic Oud House (Bayt al-Oud al-Arabi) in Cairo, which his official site describes as the first school anywhere dedicated to teaching the oud as a solo instrument, and it has since opened branches in Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, Baghdad, Khartoum, Riyadh and Mosul. Among other recognitions, Shamma was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2017 by Director-General Irina Bokova, in recognition of his support for the musical education of young people in Iraq and beyond, and he is goodwill ambassador of the Iraqi Red Crescent and of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Middle East and North Africa. In the 1980s, Shamma was accused by the Iraqi government of criticising Saddam Hussein. He was asked to visit the Iraqi embassy to Amman, where he was kidnapped and transported against his will to Iraq where he was imprisoned. He was interrogated for weeks, and was sentenced to death without a court hearing. He was ultimately released without any meaningful process. On February 11, 2024 Naseer Shamma, has launched his debut art exhibition, Half Life, at the Etihad Modern Art Gallery

• Before I Get Crucified (1997) • The Night of Baghdad (1997) • Eastern Love Story (1997) • Declaring My Love Silently (1997) • For the Children of Iraq (1997) • The Siege of Baghdad (2000)

• Oud Naseer Shamma (2000, Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation) • The Fire This Time (2002, Hidden Art) • Silk (2008, Abu Dhabi Festival)