Zohar Productions - Musicians

Zohar provides musicians and bands from all over The Mediterranean,
North Africa and The Middle East. Although there are too many talented
musicians and bands to list, the following examples will give you an
idea of the diversity of talent and musical traditions that are available.

The Gnawa music of Morocco is best represented by world renowned musician, vocalist and dancer Hassan Hakmoun and his company of talented musicians. Hassan is a master of the Gnawa lute called a sintir. The Gnawa perform acrobatic dances accompanied by large side drums called thel and metal double castanets called qaraqeb.
	Greek born musical arranger, lead guitarist, and bouzouki virtuoso Avram Pengas and his band Noga are a high energy dance band. These versatile performers play popular Israeli hits, exotic Arabic melodies, pulsating Persian and Turkish rhythms, Armenian dances and traditional Yiddish songs.
The Simon Shaheen Near East Ensemble is a New York City based group of internationally acclaimed musicians. The Ensemble is known for its classical music. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Performing Arts Center and many other great concert halls around the world.
	Moroccan born Radouane Harris is a master oud player and vocalist. He and his band are equally at home performing classic and pop Middle Eastern music, Andalousian songs or the music of the Gnawa.
One of the leading oud players in the United States, Elias Sarkar is also a superb singer and violinist. His band specializes in Arabic, Turkish, Armenian and Israeli music.

Instruments familiar in the West such as the violin, flute, accordion and
clarinet are played in Middle Eastern music. Many other exotically named
instruments are used as well: zurna, riqq, bendir, zills, def, mizmar,
kanoon, ney, kaval, tar, zarb, santur, tambur, darbukkah, oud, and dombak.