Maya Youssef

Maya Youssef is a globally renowned qanun player from Damascus, Syria. (The instrument is a 78-stringed Middle Eastern plucked zither.) She has lived in the U.K. since 2012, is a regular on the BBC, and has been featured at the BBC Proms at The Royal Albert Hall as part of an all-star ensemble that included tabla player Kuljit Bhamra and double bassist Adam Oscar Storey. She reacted to her home country's civil war by releasing Syrian Dreams, her debut album, for Harmonia Mundi in 2017. That same year, she played on Solomon Grey's original score and soundtrack for the BBC drama series The Last Post. In 2022, she independently issued Finding Home, her sophomore outing. Its recording was funded by Arts Council England and a PRS Women Make Music Award.