Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Wissam Joubran was born in 1983, in Nazareth, in the Galilee. His father signs him up for violin lessons at the Nazareth conservatory. He becomes attracted to the oud after watching and listening to his brother Samir play it. He establishes an intimate connection with the oud, with its wholesome curves, its round belly. Seeing how he merges with the instrument, Hatem, his father, hand crafts and gives him a small oud for his ninth birthday.
Wissam starts out by performing local concerts in Palestine. He then turns toward the theater, where he plays the role of a singing oud player in a piece about the life of Moudaffar El Nawab. When he is twelve, he seizes the opportunity to take his dreams and talent all the way to Paris' Arab World Institute, where he shares the stage with his brother Samir.
In 2002, again at his brother's side, Wissam performs musical interludes at readings of Mahmoud Darwish' poetry. Then, with the album Tamaas, Wissam's international career takes off. He decides to bring is musical culture and experience fully to bear in his relationship with the oud; thus, in 2005, he is the first arab to graduate from the prestigious Antonio Stradivari Conservatory, in Cremona. Wissam, like his father before him, continues in the line of his ancestors and becomes a master luthier. He builds the Joubran Trio's three ouds with his own hands, tailoring each one so that, when they are played, oud and player are one.
Master luthier, oud player, and firm believer in the symbiosis of traditional arabic music and the modernity of the oud, Wissam Joubran is carrying his family legacy steadfastly into the future.
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Achievements and Awards
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