ABOUT MUSTAFA SAID
Born in Cairo, Mustafa Said is a musician, composer, musicologist, oud virtuoso and singer. He is currently the Head of Research at Qatar Foundation. Mustafa founded Asil Ensemble for Contemporary Arabic Classical Music in 2003. Mustafa is a winner of the Aga Khan Music Awards (2019) and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (2024) in the category of Editing of Arabic Manuscripts. He was the Director of AMAR Foundation for Arab Music Archiving & Research from 2009 to 2022, which is the only organisation in the Arab world dedicated to audio archiving of Arabic music. He also directed and adapted “Rawdat Al-Balabel”, a series of podcasts about classical Arabic music sponsored by AMAR and the Sharjah Art Foundation.
Imaterial Festival 2021 © Matilde Viegas
Mustafa began his musical education at a very young age, accompanying the Mashayekh of Tanta, Egypt, and learning from them the art of Inshad. He later travelled across the Mediterranean and Central Asia to explore diverse musical traditions, both independently and through world music programmes at several universities, starting with the American University in Cairo. At the same time, he studied literature and linguistics at Ain Shams University. He then earned his Master’s degree at Antonine University in Lebanon, under the supervision of Nidaa Abu Murad, focusing on the modal system in Mashayekh singing traditions.
Shubbak Festival 2015
Bilarabi Summit, Qatar Foundation 2025
Edinburgh Festival 2024
Mustafa’s major projects and activities are in the field of performance and new composition. He has taught workshops, given conferences and lectures at many academic and artistic institutions, and written several musical compositions for theatre, dance performances and documentaries. He has participated in many international music festivals as a solo performer, guest artist, collaborator with other musicians, or with Asil Ensemble. Five albums of his compositions have been published, along with numerous academic and non-academic articles. His music and essays have been recognised by many critics and awarded internationally.
The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon 2023
In 2023, he obtained a PhD in musicology from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), with a dissertation entitled: “Safinat al-Mulk wa-Nafisat al-Fulk (Shehab al-Din): al-Muwashah wa-Musiqa al-Maqam al-Natiqa bil-Arabiya bayn al-Tantheer wal-Maras’” (The Ship of Possession and the Precious Ship (Shehab al-Din) - Muwashah and Arabic-speaking Maqam Music between Theory and Practice).
Supervisors: Jean Lambert, Professor at University of Paris Nanterre; and Fr. Badih Al Hajj, Professor at USEK.
His doctoral study, Safinat al-Mulk wa-Nafisat al-Fulk (Shehab al-Din), was later published by ElAin Publishing in 2023, following a meeting of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Board of Trustees.
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA), organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, announced Mustafa Said as the winner of its 18th edition (2024) in the category of Editing of Arabic Manuscripts for this study.
Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2024