About

Maya Youssef is hailed as ‘queen of the qanun’, the 78-stringed Middle Eastern plucked zither. Maya’s intense and thoughtful music is rooted in the Arabic classical tradition but forges pathways into jazz, Western classical and flamenco styles. Her latest programme, Finding Home, is a journey through memories and the essence of home, both within and without. Maya and her band of remarkable musicians introduce us to music, deep and visceral, which explores the full sonic texture of the qanun, and is about finding a place of peace, comfort and healing.

Maya writes “As any Syrian will tell you, there is this overwhelming sense of loss and an overwhelming sense of grief… It’s only by embarking on that spiritual journey of constant meditation and of finding home within God and within myself that I started to feel consolable… I felt that the world is my home and humanity is my home. With my latest album I want to take people through a transformative journey, where they land in that place of home for them.”

Maya moved to London in 2012 under the Arts Council’s “Exceptional Talent” scheme. A BBC Proms artist, she is regularly featured on Radio 3 and has played alongside Damon Albarn.