Hesham El Araby

about

Hesham El-Araby is an Egyptian percussionist and educator, best known as a master of the riqq and frame drums (duff). Internationally, he’s most visible on recordings such as The Music of Islam, Vol. 1: Al-Qahirah – Classical Music of Cairo (Celestial Harmonies, 1998), where he is credited on riqq, alongside Mamdouh El-Gbaly (oud), Mostafa Abd El-Khalek (qanun) and Mohammed Foda (nay). He also appears in later projects like Egyptian Taqasim Volume One, listed among the core Cairo percussionists with Khamis Henkesh, Negm Hanafy, Ahmed Bedir and Mohammed Sobhi. Within Egypt, El-Araby has a dual identity as virtuoso performer and academic figure. Arabic-language sources describe him as “one of the most important riqq and duff players in Egypt and the Arab world” and note his candidacy for the leadership of the Egyptian Musicians’ Syndicate. Multiple institutional and social-media posts from the Academy of Arts in Cairo name him as former dean of the Higher Institute of Arabic Music (عميد المعهد العالي للموسيقى العربية الأسبق) and show him overseeing concerts by the Umm Kulthum Ensemble and student orchestras. On YouTube and other platforms he appears both in solo riqq features and in long-form interviews labelled “لقاء مع عازف الرق الأستاذ هشام العربي” (“interview with riqq player Professor Hesham El-Araby”), reinforcing his status as a senior pedagogue of Arabic rhythmic practice. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additiona

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