Naseer Shamma is among the world’s foremost players and teachers of the oud. Born in Kut, Iraq, he trained at the Music Academy in Baghdad with Iraqi grand master Munir Bashir, graduating in 1987, and subsequently completed a PhD in music philosophy. From 1993 to 1998 he taught at the Conservatory in Tunis, before founding the Arab Oud House in Cairo, a school dedicated entirely to his instrument. Other schools have subsequently opened in Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Baghdad, and Mosul. He has performed around the world with musicians from a wide range of artistic backgrounds, and in many of his projects combines traditions and instruments of classical Arabic music with those of Western music. Honored with more than 70 Iraqi and international awards, he received the Gusi Peace Prize in 2012, and in 2017 was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace for his humanitarian activities. He has been closely associated with the Pierre Boulez Saal since its inception.