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JOSEPH TAWADROS - Epiphany

Oud Virtuoso…. and one of World’s great musicians at the age of 23
 
 “One of the most impressive musicians to emerge in Australia…with a dazzling technique dispensing hair raising tempos...his writing displays a real depth of emotion…reveling in a zest for life and celebration” - The Australian
 
He astonished audiences when he toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He won the 2006 Freedman Fellowship for Classical music. He has been twice nominated for young Australian of the year. He has been twice nominated for an ARIA award. He appears at festivals and concert halls throughout the world dazzling audiences with his brilliant technique, his passionate musicianship, and his joyous style of performance.
 
Now Joseph joins with two of Australia’s young virtuosos; his prodigiously talented brother James on percussion and the amazing jazz/funk bass player Ben Rodgers, in this special live recording - transporting us to another world with the magical sounds of the oud.
 
Epiphany is a collection of Joseph’s highly original, rhythmically complex and imaginative compositions dispersed with soulful improvisations by this extremely young dynamic trio. It is a CD of musical maturity beyond Joseph’s years and places him squarely in the ranks of the world’s greatest oud players.
 
Joseph plays the Oud, a fretless stringed instrument, the Egyptian ancestor of the lute.
 
Born in Cairo in 1983, Joseph came to Australia at 2 years of age. By the age of 12 he was a seasoned concert performer, playing alongside his teacher Mohamed Youssef.
 
He was encouraged to explore the musical parameters of the instrument and the traditional Egyptian Taqasim, a performing style akin to modal improvisation.
 
 But Tawadros has since developed a truly unique and distinctive personal style, and its freshness and virtuosity are both highly evident on EPIPHANY.
 
“Taking the oud out of its traditional environments and into the modern concert hall is something that has been very important to me,” says Joseph.

He has toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and performed with Richard Tognetti, Slava Grigoryan, Zakir Hussain, Riley Lee, Katie Noonan and Neil Finn to name just a few.

JOSEPH TAWADROS - Epiphany is available through Birdland Records, and distributed by Creative Vibes

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