Violinist Layth Sidiq discuss musical identity and music education

Zyad Tariq Rasheed and Natasha Tynes talk with violinist Layth Sidiq on the future of music in the Arab world. 

Layth Sidiq is an award-winning violinist, composer, educator and the current artistic director of the New York Arabic Orchestra and the Center for Arabic Culture’s Youth Orchestra Program. He has toured the world and shared the stage with major artists such as Simon Shaheen, Danilo Perez, Javier Limon and Jack Dejohnette, as well as performing in prestigious venues like the London Jazz Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, WOMEX Expo, Panama Jazz Festival and more. He is featured on multiple award-winning albums and his first record Son of Tigris was premiered at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2016.

 In 2018, Layth won 2nd place at the Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition as the first Arab to ever participate, and he was also recently awarded 'Best International Artist' at the 2020 Boston Music Awards. He was the director of the Tufts Arab Music Ensemble for four years and is a current guest faculty member at Carnegie Hall’s ‘Music Educators Workshop’. Layth is an in-demand violinist, composer and educator in the US and abroad.