Mustafa Said is an Egyptian singer, musicologist, composer and a virtuoso Oud player.
He currently lives in Beirut and is one of the few young talents to devote his career to the renaissance of the classical Arabic repertoire.
Mustafa Said is currently the Director of the Arab Music Archiving and Research enterprise (AMAR) in Lebanon and was a former professor at the House of Oud in Cairo as well as an instructor in musicology at the Higher Institute of Music of the Antonin University in Lebanon.
His approach to music steams from the already existent traditions in the eastern Mediterranean region namely on that of the golden age of Abbasid music, and that of the second half of the 19th century. Mustafa’s emphasis on instrumental and vocal improvisations (Taqsim) is what makes him one of the last great performers of this genre. The interpretation of this tradition takes two shapes both extended from within this same inherited musical tradition: different styles of improvisational and variations on already composed pieces as well as instant improvisation of other works through vocal recitation and instrumental Taqasim.
Said has composed music for several documentaries and plays. He participated in many local and international festivals as a solo performer or as part of an ensemble: Institute of the Arab World (2007), Mugam Festival in Azerbaijan (2009), Songs of Peace and Reconciliation conference in Indonesia (2009), Sounds of Arabia Festival in Abu Dhabi (2010), toured 6 cities in Japan where he performed 17 concerts and conferences (2010), Fes Festival of World Sacred Music (2010).
Mustafa Saïd is also the founder of the Asil Oriental Ensemble and is a lecturer in traditional Arabic music at the Higher Institute of Music, Antonine University (Lebanon) since 2006.
