| Folk Arts - Master Artist - Maurice Rouman
Master artist Maurice Rouman is a member of the M B Orchestra, known in Middle Eastern circles both here and abroad. His forte is the Egyptian 'oud, an ancient and difficult 10-stringed instrument which is the forerunner of the modern lute. He began playing at age 6 in Alexandria, learning from relatives and neighbors. By the time he was 12 he was performing publicly. His musical studies took him from the University of Egypt to Milan, Italy. Since coming to Seattle in 1983, Rouman has continued his music, both playing and teaching classical Egyptian songs, and composing. He teaches the 'oud "from his heart," or by close observation, as he never uses sheet music for it. He is concerned that the ancient Egyptian music, and especially his favorite Coptic repertoire, will disappear some day, just as some traditions have disappeared in Egypt already. Rouman is a three-time recipient of the Apprenticeship grant, has appeared at the NW Folk life Festival, and has many recordings to his name.
As a recipient of a 1992 Apprenticeship grant, Rouman taught his daughter, Magda Mattar, to play the ‘oud. Magda is already a performing musician, playing both in Egypt and the U.S. Magda is also a member of the M B Orchestra, and hopes to pass traditional ‘oud playing on to her children.
As a recipient of a 1994 Apprenticeship grant, Rouman continued teaching Magda Mattar the ‘oud, focusing on more advanced compositions and techniques.
As a recipient of a 2004 Apprenticeship grant, Rouman taught George Sadak to play the ‘oud, focusing on the roots of early 20th century Egypt and modern Middle Eastern music. George Sadak is also from Egypt, and has never received any formal training with the ‘oud. Despite George’s lack of formal training, he has been playing percussion instruments for the past five years. George hopes that his apprenticeship training will help develop his music writing skills, which he can then incorporate into western music. | |||
