Arab musicians - The new international radio co-production promoted by ASBU and COPEAM
Following the success of the co-production “Arab Philosophers – Ancient and Contemporary”, this new international series explores the rich history and legacy of Arab music through the portraits of leading artists and musicians who have contributed to its development and to the enrichment of its diverse traditions, and who had an impact and a strong influence-in cultural and social terms-in the Arab world.
Once again, an exceptionally broad and diverse partnership has come together: 19 public radio broadcasters from 19 countries in the MENA region, the Gulf and Europe-belonging to the ASBU and COPEAM networks-have joined forces to produce an Arabic-language cultural radio series celebrating the richness of Arab musical heritage.
The producers from the Arab and European broadcasting organizations have worked alongside numerous experts provided by ASBU and specializing in music, history and cultural heritage. This radio documentary series is based on historical sources, radio archives and academic expertise, presenting this rich inheritance in a contemporary format that combines scholarly accuracy with modern radio storytelling.
Starting from July, the first 13 episodes are on air on the partner radio stations. From September, the other episodes will follow.
Another original radio project that, through a collaborative process started in January 2026 with ASBU, strengthens cultural exchange and dialogue, highlighting the shared value of public media in preserving, promoting and disseminating the Arab world’s rich musical culture to diverse audiences.
The protagonists of the first episodes:
- Sayed Darwish (Radio Exterior de España/Spain)- the celebrated Egyptian composer known as the People’s Artist.
- Tareq Abdel Hakim (Saudi Radio) – the composer regarded as the spiritual father of Saudi music.
- Laure Daccache (Monte Carlo Doualiya/France) – one of the most distinguished female voices in Arab music.
- Mohamed Wardi (Sudan Radio) – one of the greatest pioneers of Sudanese music.
- Salem Ali Saeed (Oman Radio) – known as the Ambassador of Omani Song.
- Khalid Al Sheikh (Bahrein Radio) – Bahraini composer, singer, and musician.
- Mohamed Al-Qabanchi (Iraq Radio) – known as the Lyre of Iraq and celebrated as the Singer of the Century.
- Tawfiq Al-Nimri (Jordan Radio) – pioneer of the Jordanian song tradition.
- Nasri Shamseddine (Radio Liban) – Lebanese singer and stage actor.
- Bilegh Hamdi (Qatar Radio) – Egyptian composer, singer, and musician.
- Noubli Fadel (Radio Algérienne/Algeria) – Algerian composer and musician.
- Abdulaziz Nasser (Qatar Radio) – Qatari composer.
- Saleh Al-Mahdi (Radio Nationale Tunisienne) – the Tunisian composer known as the Ziryab of Tunisia.
