Huda Asfour

Huda Asfour:

Huda believes in the necessity of transcending borders in both life and music. A polymath with works in the fields of music, biomedical engineering, signal and image processing, and social work. She is a natural storyteller whose music challenges taboos and stereotypes. An improviser who has over the years collaborated with artists spanning countries from the USA to China.

Born in the turmoil of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Huda's life was off to an unconventional start. Her formal training in music began in Tunis at the age of 13, though her musical origins began much earlier, among a family of musicians. In 1996, she joined the National Conservatory of Music in Gaza, and later, in Ramallah, where she was mentored by Khaled Jubran at the Edward Said Music Conservatory. In 2002, Huda joined Al Urmawi Center for Mashriq Music. As part of her tenure at Al Urnawi, Huda attended multiple workshops for young musicians covering the fundamentals of Irani and Indian music as it relates to Maqam. Huda also briefly trained under the famous Qanun player Said Rajab in Cairo, Egypt.

In 2003, Huda, together with Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, co-founded Jehar band, a musical experiment which molded Arabic folk and the classical Levantine Arabic repertoire from their traditional presentations into reinterpretations that would be relatable to young Palestinians emerging from the siege of the Second Intifada.

Huda’s debut release ‘Mars, Back and Forth’ (2009) is another progressive experimentation and reinterpretation of familiar Arabic styles alongside a compelling push for the inter-stellar home, self, and futurism. Mars features Kinan Azmeh (clarinet), John Hadfield (percussion), Kris Funn (contrabass), and Nadim Khoury (buzuq). For Huda, this debut was her “search for home: a trip to a world without borders, undefined by labels and boundaries. The god of war, that shaped [her] early years, from the mountains of Lebanon where [she] was born during the Israeli invasion, to the early years of the Second Intifada (uprising) in Ramallah. The album was partially funded by a 2009 Production award from the Cultural Resource. In 2011, Huda was awarded the music production grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture. The latter funded the recording of Asfour’s second album "Kouni",released in May of 2018. In "Kouni", she revisits different musical genres that have helped shape her music , ranging from folk songs of Iraq and Tunisia, to original compositions that delve into taboo identities, and explores the theme of love, outside of the borders imposed on its expression. In this album, Huda blends vocals with classical and jazz inspired string and brass arrangements, and rhythms from a broad range of styles, to produce a unique amalgamation of sounds.

Among her works are two original film scores, a multimedia performance in collaboration with Tamil-American poet, Gowri Koneswaran, featuring Syrian flamenco dancer Wathec Sleiman, and Canadian tap dancer Melissa Frakman, in Washington DC. She has also featured on DUNUM's 2016 improvisational album and Metabana's debut album in 2019.

More recently, Huda has been focused on developing her improvisational practice as a musician and educator. In 2019, she received a grant from Mohpradat that allowed her to pilot a new series of workshops focused on Arabic music aesthetics, and using conducted improvisation as a tool. Till date, Huda has facilitated more than seven workshops and a number of master classes and lectures in cities like Cairo, Alexandria, Beirut, Amman, Chicago, and Brooklyn. Her latest collaboration with Valentian Ciniglio from the OEOAS in Naples, Italy, has resulted in the creation of a sustainable orchestra in Cairo, currently meeting regularly at the Goethe-Institut in Cairo, one of the main partners for the workshop there. In a bid to share this innovative approach to music-making, Huda has recently founded the Brooklyn Improv Orchestra, a welcoming, community-based ensemble open to members and enthusiasts alike.

Inspired by the OEOAS model, this orchestra embraces a horizontal leadership structure, allowing every member to both conduct and participate, fostering a harmonious and collaborative environment.

In addition to her work in music, Huda is trained as a biomedical and electrical engineer and has more than 10 years of research and teaching experience in the field. 

For a full list of academic publications, you can visit: http://bit.ly/hudaspublications

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