Joseph Tawadros

Composer and oud virtuoso, Joseph Tawadros was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1983.

Emigrating to Australia in 1986, he brought with him a musical tradition inherited from his maternal grandfather, Mansi Habib (1920-1957), an active composer and an oud and violin virtuoso in Cairo.

Joseph studied with Mohamed Youssef, a renowned oud player and jazz pianist. Youssef encouraged Joseph to explore the musical parameters of the oud and the traditional Egyptian taqasim, a performing style akin to improvisation.

In 2004, Joseph was invited by the Egyptian Minister of Culture and the Opera House to complete a tour of Cairo and Alexandria, marking the first cultural exchange between the Australian and the Egyptian governments.

In the same year Joseph was invited to perform at the WOMAD festival in Adelaide as a solo artist. Joseph also toured Italy with accordion virtuoso James Crabb, and performed as a guest with ARIA award winning jazz band Wanderlust at the prestigious Villa Cellimontana jazz festival in Rome.

In 2004, Joseph released his debut album ‘Storyteller’, which was nominated for an ARIA award for the Best World Music album. Two years later, Joseph completed a successful national tour with his percussionist brother James and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), with seven of Joseph's compositions being performed by this prestigious ensemble. 

Other highlights of 2006 included a recording of eight of Joseph's compositions with the ACO, an ARIA nomination for 'Best World Music Album' for his CD Visions, and winning the prestigious Freedman Fellowship award for classical music.

In 2008, Joseph received the Australia Council's International residency at Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris.