Nawras Altaky

Ud, vocals

Nawras Altaky is a vocalist, Ud player, composer and improviser based in Utrecht the Netherlands. Born in 1995 in ‘As-Suwayda’, or the Druze mountain of south Syria.

Besides his own compositions, he performs a varied repertoire of classical, traditional, modern, experimental and world music. Explores world music through interdisciplinary collaborations and intercultural projects. His inspiration is mostly driven by his values such as, freedom, humility, honesty, love and joy. Altaky supports his message delivery with text, visuals and performance arts.

Composer

As a composer, Nawras expresses the strong connection between the different musical cultures he experiences such as Arabic and Western music. All merged in a virtuosity of contemporary and modern compositions flavoured with the beauty of Arabic melodies, the freedom of jazz harmonies and the power of classical counterpoint.

He was chosen as one of the most promising classical musicians in The Netherlands and Belgium for the next decade by the Dutch Newspaper NRC.
NRC: “Altaky distinguished a warm baritone voice with which he can sing breathtakingly, colourful, softly and effectively build tension through a sublime sense of timing.”

Collaborations

As a performer Altaky shared the stage with Caro Emerald, Ellen Ten Damme, Oene van Geel, Janne Schra, Tony Roe and many other wonderful artists.
In 2017 he formed his own band ‘Dyar’ (which means home in Arabic) together with Lucas Dols (double bass), Modar Salama (percussions) and Ghaeth Almaghoot (clarinet).

On Stage

Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Paradiso, Bimhuis, TivoliVredenburg ( Grote zaal, Hertz, CloudNine, Ronde and pandora), Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, De Meervaart, Theatre Walhalla, Stadsschouwburg Leiden, Splendor, Kleine Komedie, Luxor Theater and more. Le Guess who, International Music Meeting, North See Round Town, Grachten Festival, Wonderfeel festival, Tweetakt, Djemaa el Fna, The Parade, Gaudeamus, On The Roof and more. Worked as a composer at the Music Meeting Festival in Nijmegen and the Grachtenfestival Festival in Amsterdam 2021.