Aboud Agha (Vocal)
Agha was born in 1982 to a Syrian family in Dubai, UAE. His family migrated back to their hometown in Aleppo, Syria in 1989. Agha's first musical experience involved theater musicals; he was "discovered" at a school vocal contest and given the lead role in several national musicals featuring original compositions. By the age of 12, he had already recorded several plays at the "Izaa3a Wal Televizion" studios in Damascus. Agha started learning 'ud on his own and started discovering Arabic music theory.
Agha gained deeper interest in the classical Arabic music repertoire of "muashahaat wa kudud halabieh" primarily through the vocal performances of legends like Sabah Fakhri, Sabri Mudalal, and Mohamad Khairi. Agha came to the United States in 1996 and started performing Arabic music in events around the country. He attended the Arabic music retreat established by Simon Shaheen and was influenced by his methods of teaching and deep technical understanding of the maqam system. Agha became part of the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble in 2003 and recorded his first album in 2005. He also recorded "The Songs of Sheikh Sayyed Darweesh: 'Soul of a People'" with Xauen Music. Agha is currently pursuing his musical studies in Boston.
