Setrak Sarkissian ستراك سركسيان (born 1936 – died 21 February 2017) was a Lebanese

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player of Armenian descent. He has won numerous awards in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

for his contributions to both traditional and modern

Arabic music Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...

. His compositions and arrangements have been featured on over 30 recordings and movie soundtracks, including five with

Farid al-Atrash Farid al-Atrash ( ar, فريد الأطرش; October 19, 1916 – December 26, 1974), also written Farid El-Atrache, was a Syrian-Egyptian composer, singer, virtuoso oud player, and actor. Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of only nine ...

Biography

Sarkissian was born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon. His passion for music began early; inspired by his older brother's tabla playing at home and at family parties by 18 was learning to play himself. His family was not always supportive, since at that time music as a profession did not have a high social status, they even broke his drum. Not to be deterred, he continued to play and enrolled at the conservatory for further training. His skill was immediately recognized, and Sarkissian excelled rapidly. Sarkissian began touring with the dancer

Nadia Gamal Nadia Gamal ( ar, نادية جمال) was an Egyptian dancer and actress. She is known of mixing local Egyptian belly dance with Western Waltz, Cowboy, Cha Cha and other. Early life and career Born as Maria Carydias in Alexandria, Egypt. Gamal ...

in 1958, performing with her until 1962, when he began playing with Samira Toufik. Sarkissian has performed with many Middle Eastern singers, including Samira Toufik,

Fairuz Nouhad Wadie' Haddad ( ar, نهاد وديع حداد, ; born November 21, 1934), known as Fairuz ( ar, فيروز, ; also spelled Fairouz, Feyrouz or Fayrouz), is a Lebanese singer. She is considered by many as one of the leading vocalists a ...

, Mouhamed Abdel Wahab, Farid El Atrash, Sabah Fakhri,

Abdel Halim Hafez Abdel Halim Ali Shabana ( ar, عبد الحليم علي شبانة), commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez ( ar, عبد الحليم حافظ,) (June 21, 1929 – March 30, 1977), was an Egyptian singer, actor, conductor, businessman, music teach ...

, Fayza Ahmed, Warda,

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Şaba (Romanian for Shabo), a town of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Saba (river), L ...

h, and Majida Roumi. He has performed with such dancers as

, Tahiya Carioka, Samia Gamal,

Fifi Abdou Fifi Abdou ( ar, فيفي عبده, , born Atiyat Abdul Fattah Ibrahim (), ; April 26, 1953) is an Egyptian belly dancer and actress. She has been described as "synonymous with belly dancing in the years she was performing." Early life and caree ...

, Nagwa Fouad, Souher Zaki, Samara, Amani, Ranine, Noura, and Shahraman. He continued to perform, record and teach. He lived in the traditionally

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

neighborhood of

Bourj Hammoud Bourj Hammoud (also spelled Burj Hammud; ar, بُرْجُ حَمُّودٍ; hy, Պուրճ Համուտ) is a town and municipality in Lebanon located north-east of the capital Beirut, in the Matn District, and is part of Greater Beirut. The to ...

and taught workshops around the world, along with international performances. Setrak has recorded over 20 albums of belly dance and traditional middle eastern music, most of which with the Hollywood Music Center label. Setrak Sarkissian died on 21 February 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon.

References

Lebanese musicians 2017 deaths Tabla players Musicians from Beirut Lebanese people of Armenian descent 1936 births {{percussionist-stub

Biography

See also

References